Complete the Circle
by celadonserpent
Summary: Three fall by Naraku. Three flee to the present. All live in Kagome's time. The power of the still incomplete Shikon no Tama lures Naraku out, and the forgotten must be remembered. *Note: Complete*
1. The Sign of Death

**Complete the Circle**

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Inuyasha belong to their respective owners and are used without permission. The story was written purely for enjoyment, and no money was made off from this story.

**Author's Note:** The translation of attacks, names, etc. was taken from Chris Rijk's Inuyasha: Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi at http://www.wot-club.org.uk/Inuyasha and from the translation of the Inuyasha anime.

This is my first fan fiction so please be nice!

**Chapter One: The Sign of Death**

This was going to be the end. He could feel it. The air was so thick with evil that he could almost touch it. He glanced over at Miroku, whose brow was slightly furrowed in worry, his usually calm face marred by a note of finality that was written on his face. So, Miroku had felt the inevitable, too.

He looked up, through the bare branches of the dead trees to see several crows circling the sky above. Someone was going to die this day. He hoped it was going to be Naraku, but his instinct told him that it was going to be someone else.

            He glanced over to Kirara. Sango, Kagome, and Shippou were riding on Kirara, all with equal expressions of trepidation.

            Miroku…fighting to free himself of the curse that had plagued his family for three generations. After this battle, the curse would disappear. As to how it would happen…they would soon discover.

_            Kill Naraku, or die trying._ Where had he heard that before? _Miroku, will you rid yourself of your curse through the death of Naraku, or your own?_

            He turned his head forward again, using his nose to lead his group through the dead forest, to their final battle._ No, I mustn't think of this battle as the last. We'll all survive through this to fight again. We **have** to._

            His sensitive ears heard Sango shift Hiraikotsu slightly. The youkai exterminator was determined to get revenge for the death of her entire family, as well as the death and destruction of her village. Would she be the one who would deliver the last blow to Naraku, or would this battle be her last?

_Stop thinking like that! Who said that Naraku was going to win anyway?_ He stomped grumpily through the lifeless wood. They were moving at a relatively slow pace, slower than one would expect for a group whose mission was about to come to an end. He stole another glance at Sango, noting that her eyes were unfocused, seemingly thinking of something. He thought to shout at her for letting her caution slip at a time like this, but thought better of it. What was she thinking of? Did it have something to do with her brother, Kohaku?

He started to become irritated with himself. He had said that he would kill Kohaku to save Sango the pain of killing a loved one, or at least one that used to be a loved one. He mentally shook himself. To Sango, Kohaku was still Kohaku. It didn't matter that he had nearly killed her many times, or that it was because of him that the rest of the group had encountered numerous dangers. Of course Sango would still have feelings for her brother that was so changed. After all, didn't he himself still have feelings for Kikyo, a woman long dead, who was bent on dragging him to hell? He could never harm Kikyo, so he knew that no matter how many chances were presented to Sango to kill Kohaku, she would never do it. That was why he had said he would do the dirty work. But he hadn't. Why? _Why?_

_What are you going to do if Naraku should use Kohaku against you, Sango?_

Which reminded him of the Shikon shard still in Kohaku. Shikon shards, Shikon no Tama: all led to the reincarnation of Kikyo, who was so much stronger that Kikyo ever was, is. Kikyo could slay many youkai at a time with her excellent archery, while this girl could heal so many broken hearts. Miroku, determined to go through life alone so that no one would be hurt as he was when his father was swallowed by his air void; Sango, whose entire life was destroyed in one night, living a nightmare in which her dead brother tried to kill her; Shippou, a small child who had wished to avenge his father with what little power he had, always feeling weak, and cowardly, but was really more brave than he gave himself credit for. How could a girl from a land so strange to him have to power to bring sad hearts together? How did she make them feel a family, caring for more people than they wished to admit? How could he have been so foolish as to fall into her trap?

I was not thinking clearly the first time I saw her. Her face, her scent, they were so similar to Kikyo's that I felt scared when I first saw her running from the centipede. I had thought that Kikyo's anger, the last conscious thought I had before I was sealed, had decided to come and finish me off. But I put on that hard cover that I had created for all these years. I was determined not to be hurt by anyone again.

_So when Kagome released me from the spell and retrieved the Shikon no Tama, I was determined to cut off the part of me that was hurting. Kill this person that looked like Kikyo, and I might have been able to trick myself into believing that I had never cared for Kikyo. But then that old hag put the stupid rosary on me, forcing me to obey a girl's orders._

_Thank you, Kaede-sama._

_Without a chance to discover what friendship was, I might still be running around, trying to become a great youkai like my father. Without the rosary, I might have lost out on the sweetest part in life. Perhaps without the rosary, I would still be envious of Seshoumaru. But now…nothing. I don't want to be like Seshoumaru anymore. I want to be Inuyasha. Youkai, hanyou, ningen, it doesn't matter as long as I am myself. I'll have to thank Kagome for teaching me how to accept myself someday…nah. I'll seem too much of a softy if I thank her._

_But really, I wish Kagome wasn't so dense sometimes. It's obvious to everyone that I love her, yet she keeps on insisting that I love Kikyo. That was only partly true. I love Kikyo for the woman she was, and I want to see that woman again, no matter how brief. I guess sort of a parting between her and I. I don't want to part with her angry with me. I know that they keep telling me that it was Naraku's fault that Kikyo died, but I still can't help feeling responsible. But sometimes I wonder, would I really let Kikyo drag me to hell? Would I allow her to kill me? Would I allow her to hurt Kagome?_

I will do anything for Kikyo because I want others to see the one that had first opened my heart. I want them to see how good, sweet, beautiful she is, not this doll that looks like her, yet acts so different. And so, I would allow her to take me to hell, because I deserve it. I would let her kill me if it would make her return to her old self. But I will not, cannot allow her to hurt Kagome. If I did that, then the Kikyo I knew would truly be lost. Everyone would just know her by this mud statue that was filled with anger and anguish. Kikyo would never be able to live again, not even in my heart.

"Inuyasha, what are you thinking about?" an annoying voice piped. Shippou. That child really knew when to interrupt his thoughts.

Poor Shippou, losing his family at such a young age. Not exactly innocent, he could testify for that. He was truly a brave kid. He was afraid of many things, yet in the most unexpected moments, he would come up with some sort of tactic that would give them an edge. He was glad that the kid had been stubborn enough to stick around. What would have happened if he had succeeded in scaring the kid off?

"No-nothing," he replied quickly, feeling embarrassed. Why was he thinking of such things right now, anyway? The answer immediately came to his mind. Someone was going to die, and it wasn't going to be Naraku.

"Ne, Inuyasha, what are you really thinking about?" a sweet voice said. He knew Kagome was asking him, but what was he supposed to say? _I've just been thinking deep thoughts about everyone._ Sure, that would go well with the group. _Inuyasha, thinking for once? As if!_

But what was a good answer to give? It was clear that they weren't going to let him off the hook, for the entire group had stopped and was looking at him right now, expecting an answer. Were they that reluctant to face off with Naraku that they had to pester him? Or perhaps they felt the sense of imminent death too.

"What was that, Inuyasha?" Miroku's calm voice rang out. _Damn!_ He must have said something out loud.

"I said that I was thinking of Naraku's death!" he shouted into the monk's face, who seemed completely unfazed by his loud voice.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sango and Kagome smile to themselves. So, they still believed him to be incapable of soul wrenching thoughts. It was fine with him. As long as he could raise their spirits, he was content. He didn't have to be like Miroku, always telling people what he had contemplated, and basically showing off. People like Miroku would not be able to lift the spirits of this group. Everyone already knew he was capable of deep thoughts, so any idiotic comment from Miroku would automatically be recognized as an attempt to cheer the group up. But he was different. He acted stupid most of the time, and because of that, he would be able to bring cheer. It made him tired sometimes, to act this way, but it was better that he did. As long as he stuck to his shell, people would believe he was a stubborn fool. 

But at least being a stubborn fool was better than a brooding monk who had nearly lost his life because he had given up when he was alone in a far off temple surrounded by youkai.

"Yeah, when we reach Naraku's castle, I'm going to kick his ass!" he said enthusiastically. At least he hoped it sounded enthusiastic. He didn't want them to get suspicious.

"Ah, Inuyasha, can't you ever use more of that poor excuse of a brain of yours?" Shippou asked, shaking his head.

"Nani?!" Shippou was promptly knocked on the head a few times, leaving him to regret his words and feeling extremely dizzy.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome chided, upset that he was acting so childish.

"Feh! He deserved it," he said, huffing, stomping off towards the direction of Naraku's castle again. He saw Miroku and Sango smile to each other, feeling slightly better with his act of normality. 

Good. At least they don't all look so forlorn now.

The crushing of death leaves and branches under his feet reminded him of his thoughts earlier. What was he going to do after they defeated Naraku? Would they complete the Shikon no Tama at the cost of Kohaku's life? Would they even live long enough to contemplate such a thing?

_Why do I keep thinking that we're going to die? _He felt angry. _I'm not so pessimistic as Miroku! Then why? Why do I keep getting this feeling? _

Because he knew he was going to die.

This feeling…I had this exact same feeling the day that Kikyo died and I was "killed." My instincts have yet to fail me. Does that mean I'm going to die today?

The lifeless forest was starting to thin out. That meant that either they were near Naraku's castle, or the miasma had been so strong as to wipe out this section of the forest. It was most likely both.

_Is there anything I should do before I die? Should I tell them all how much they mean to me? _He shook his head mentally. _If I started acting out of character now, they would most likely start asking questions. Besides, how do I even know that I'm going to die? Just because my instinct tells me, and my instinct is hardly wrong, doesn't mean anything. For all I know, I could be feeling someone else's death._ He immediately regretted that thought. He didn't think he would be able to stop blaming himself if anyone in his group died, especially Kagome.

It's probably better if I die. It's not like I have anywhere to go after this, except maybe to hell with Kikyo, but I'm not really looking forward to that. Besides, Kagome would probably get mad and—why am I thinking about Kagome again!?

He let out a quiet sigh that went unheard. _If I die, at least I'm dying honorably, fighting for the people I care about. Feh! I'll kill Naraku before I die. Hmm, maybe he'll kill me before I can kill him, but the least I could do is injure him. That's right, I'm not dying without a fight, and if it's a fight Naraku wants, I can give him one he'll never forget!_

He saw the group of crows from earlier start to land on the barren branches, refusing to fly any further. He scowled. Crows, an omen of death. What else was going to warn them of death? Would ravens and hawks start flying around them too?

They stopped in front of a large wooden door. The sky was dark with evil. Inuyasha sensed Kagome suppress a shudder. He hoped she was up to the challenge of defeating Naraku.


	2. Dream of the Future

Complete the Circle Chapter Two: Dream of the Future 

            She held the small piece of the Shikon no Tama in her hand. She had connected this small portion of the Shikon no Tama to another chain, but she wanted nothing more than to break the chain and throw the Shikon shard away. The stupid jewel had caused so much suffering, and now she was going to reunite it, which would only cause more suffering in the long run. If she did complete the Shikon no Tama, that would mean that Kohaku would definitely die, and she didn't want Sango to feel sad after her brother's second death. The other option was to keep the Shikon no Tama as it was now, but that really wasn't an option at all. Perhaps once the jewel was complete, she could wish Kohaku back. Then Inuyasha wouldn't have to make the difficult decision of becoming human or full youkai.

            She smiled sadly to herself. Inuyasha… She had been thinking about him a lot lately. What was going to happen once they completed the jewel? Was she going to leave the feudal era forever? Would she never see her friends again? Would she never see Inuyasha again?

            _Mou, when did I come to care so much for him? Didn't I already ask this question before? Really, what was there to love about him? He is rude, arrogant, hotheaded, insensitive, unavailable…brave, sweet sometimes, cared for people more than he let on, strong, determined, and he has a big heart. Why am I even asking myself this question anymore? It's so obvious that I love him, so why do I bother trying to convince myself that I have no reason to love him? I just wish he would for once love me back, instead of always chasing after a ghost that has a clay body._

She looked at the hanyou that currently seemed to have a glazed look, almost as if he was thinking something. _He's probably thinking about Kikyo, _she thought bitterly. _But, I already know he chooses Kikyo before me. He would probably allow her to kill me if he thought it would make her happy._

_            No, he wouldn't,_ a little voice in her head said. But she already knew. She looked fondly at the back clad in red. _I hope this isn't the last time I get to see him. Even if the Shikon no Tama is complete, I will always return here, to Inuyasha. I know nothing will ever happen between us, but, still, I am happy when I'm near him._

_            And it's because of him that I feel the greatest sadness,_ another voice said. _It doesn't matter. I'll never abandon Inuyasha!_

            _Stupid Inuyasha. Why did he have to hit me so hard? All I did was state the truth._ He rubbed his head, hoping that the bump would go away soon. Whoever knew that a hanyou could have such strength? Shippou remembered the first time he met Inuyasha, he had thought he was a weak hanyou that could do nothing. But his travels with him had changed that. __

_            Inuyasha, I would never say this to your face, but you're the strongest person I've seen. I'm not talking only about physical strength; I'm talking about strength on all levels. Really Inuyasha, I don't know how, or why, but when I'm traveling with you I feel safer. Almost like an older brother is watching me. I guess you and Kagome gave me a family when I lost mine._

He watched Inuyasha from his perch on Kagome's shoulder. Inuyasha almost looked like he was thinking about something. He looked at the other's faces, wondering if they noticed Inuyasha's strange behavior. He wanted someone to confirm that Inuyasha was being weird, and he didn't want to be the first to mention it to Inuyasha. He had a swelling bump on his head that warned him of what was to come if he interrupted Inuyasha with his questions.

            _Stupid dog demon. You're afraid to let others show that they care about you, and you don't show anyone either. The only reason I know that you care about me is the time you saved me when you were badly injured. _Shippou looked at the others faces again, and saw that everyone was too engrossed in their own thoughts to notice Inuyasha. He saw that Miroku and Sango had the same expression that Inuyasha had on, except to a lesser intensity. _What was wrong with everyone? Inuyasha would beat Naraku, then everyone would be happy again._

_            Or would they?_

Shippou had a slight bad feeling about this battle. _I have faith on Inuyasha, but I'm scared. What if Inuyasha loses? I don't think I'm powerful enough to protect Kagome. Then again, Kagome can protect herself._

            He clenched his fists tightly. _Why am I so useless? I never help, and I am always being a burden to everyone! Fine, maybe I help once in a while, but I can never do anything when someone's life is in danger. And I'm a full youkai, for crying out loud! I should be able to do something other than stand at the sidelines. Why can't I be strong? Strong, like Inuyasha?_

            _Inuyasha lost his family when he was a kid, like me. But he raised himself and became strong so that no one can bully him. Why can't I become strong, like him?_

            _Okay, let me think. What similarities are there between Inuyasha and me? Hmm, nothing. Except we're both orphans. I wonder if Inuyasha ever realized that. Probably not._

            Shippou saw Inuyasha scowl at the crows. _Why is he getting mad at the birds? Then again, he gets mad about everything._

            Sango wondered if Kohaku was still alive, or did Naraku already kill him for the Shikon shard in him? The thought sent anger in torrents rushing out of her. Another reason to kill Naraku. Inuyasha was right. They were going to go and kick Naraku's ass.

            _It's strange. Sometimes he acts so optimistic, and others, especially when he wants to scare someone, his pessimism cannot be compared. But it's strange... His optimism cheers my spirits and allows me to believe for a brief moment that I am strong enough to defeat Naraku by myself._

_            I'm glad that I met Inuyasha. Even if the first time we met, I was trying to kill him. How can such a gruff person be so forgiving, anyway? First I try to kill him, then I try to steal Tetsusaiga, and he still forgave me. At first glance, I would never expect him to forgive anyone. Well, it's true that he doesn't forgive Kagome for the littlest things, such as letting Kouga escape, but when it matters, you can always count of him to forgive you._

_            It's like Inuyasha understands a lot more than he lets on. Sometimes I wonder if I know him at all. I wonder what drives him to do the things he does. Even though he talks and insults a lot, I don't think that anyone knows much about him. He never says anything about himself unless it is absolutely necessary, and not even then. How can I even consider him as my friend if I don't know the first thing about him?_

She paused briefly, wondering. _Does Inuyasha consider me as his friend? A year ago, I wouldn't have wanted a hanyou as a friend, but now that's all changed. Like it or not, Inuyasha, I'm a friend you can count on. You may not have wanted this many people to follow you around, but it's too late to change that now. You're stuck with us, and even if don't want to admit it, any one of us would do anything for you._

Miroku followed Inuyasha, trying to ignore the numerous crows that were flying around. __

_            Crows are a symbol of death. Someone's going to die, and I hope it's someone I don't care about._

            But who did he care about? A year ago, there would have been only one person whom he cared about, and that was his foster father, the monk who was always drunk. But now there were so many people that he had let into his heart. He shouldn't have done that. If they were unable to defeat Naraku, and his air void swallowed him up, he would leave many sad people behind. He shouldn't have gotten close to anyone.

            _How do I even know that they really care about me that much, anyway? Kagome cares about everyone, and hopefully I'm no exception. Shippou and I are always spying on Inuyasha and we get stuck with each other a lot, so I suppose he might be somewhat sad. What about Sango? Somehow, my perversion failed to drive her off. She's going to get hurt. She shouldn't have gotten so close to me. And Inuyasha? That hanyou is always trying to be tough, but if I die, will he care?_

_            He cared when you all were poisoned,_ a voice replied._ He cared so much that for the first time in years he cried. _

_            He was crying because of Kagome. He really doesn't care that much for me, especially since I keep pestering him about not becoming a full youkai with the Shikon no Tama._

            But what about that time you were drugged and your air void was ripped? Didn't Inuyasha come to save you? And when you used your air void to save Inuyasha he became angry with you because he was afraid the air void would kill you sooner?

            _Damn you. Why is it that the voices in your head always tell you what you don't want to hear?_

            He saw the crows land on the dead trees, and Inuyasha scowling. So he had noticed the entourage that had been following them. Of course. Inuyasha was a hanyou after all.

            He saw the door of Naraku's castle before him. So it was going to start.

            "Shall we enter?" he asked calmly. He noticed that everyone had a grim face on, especially Inuyasha.


	3. Lay Kohaku To Rest

Complete the Circle Chapter Three: Lay Kohaku To Rest 

            They entered the castle. Sango's skin prickled with the feeling of intense youki surrounding them. This was going to be one grim fight. The least she could do was fight her best, regardless of the outcome. She stole a peek at Miroku and saw that there was a look of grim determination in his eyes. Hopefully, they would survive this battle like they survived all the others.

            Suddenly a whirlwind headed their way, and she saw Inuyasha get run over. The whirlwind stopped in front of Kagome who had an annoyed look on her face.

            "Kouga, I already told you—" started Kagome, but Kouga interrupted.

            "I know what you're going to say. I'm just here because after the battle with Naraku, you're going to need the Shikon shards in my legs back, right? So let me help dog-turd while I'm here."

            "Why you…" started Inuyasha.

            "Oh, in that case, thank you, Kouga-kun," Kagome said, moving herself between Inuyasha and Kouga.

            "No problem," Kouga said cheerily, but when he turned away from Kagome, Sango saw that he looked slightly sad. She didn't know if he was sad because he had lost Kagome to Inuyasha, or if it was because he truly loved Kagome. Well it didn't matter. Kagome already made her decision. She only wished that Inuyasha would make his.

            "Kukuku," a familiar voice laughed. "I see that everyone has arrived. Very well, I shall begin."

            "Naraku," Inuyasha and Kouga growled simultaneously. _That's right. Naraku killed Kouga's comrades,_ Sango remembered.

            "Kagura," Naraku commanded. A beautiful youkai wearing a fine kimono stepped out. Her fan was open and ready to strike. The expression on her face matched those that she was facing off against. Sango readied Hiraikotsu, but doubted that her boomerang would be able to do much against a wind youkai. Still, she could swing it around if she had to.

            She saw Miroku put one hand onto the prayer beads in his right hand. Inuyasha took Tetsusaiga from its sheath, transforming it into a large red blade. Kirara became a larger version of herself, and Kagome notched an arrow into her bow.

            "Kanna," Naraku commanded, smiling slightly at the grim expressions on their faces. A young girl with white hair and a mirror appeared as if from nowhere, her face blank and staring at the group.

            "I don't have time to play with your spawn, Naraku," Inuyasha yelled, "Prepare yourself!" Whether his statement was directed at his friends or Naraku, Sango couldn't tell. She saw Inuyasha evade both Kanna and Kagura, heading for Naraku. __

_            He's grown stronger,_ she thought.

            Naraku's eyes had widened slightly in surprise, but soon evaded Inuyasha's large blade.

            "Kukuku. You'll have to do better than that."

            Sango felt anger well up in her again. Naraku was always toying with them. Well, she's show him that he never should have messed with her people.

            "Hiraikotsu!" The giant boomerang flew gracefully in the air, heading for Naraku, but Kanna reflected the attack back at Sango. She was prepared for it to happen, and jumped up into the air, kicking Hiraikotsu back towards Naraku. The boomerang bounced off Sango's kick and headed faster than ever to Naraku, who was still evading Inuyasha's attacks.

            Suddenly, blades of wind knocked Hiraikotsu out of its path, sending it to crash onto the roof.

            "Sango, watch out!" Miroku shouted. She turned around in time to see blades of wind coming at her.

            "Fuujin no mai!" Kagura shouted, sending more blades of wind at Sango. Even if she could somehow dodge the first set of wind blades, Kagura had insured that she wouldn't escape the second set.

            "Kaza Ana!" Miroku shouted, having gotten in front of Sango and was using his air void to suck the wind up.

            The blades of wind disappeared, but Sango heard the dreadful noise of something buzzing.

            "Houshi-sama, the Saimyoushou!" she shouted into the wind, hoping that Miroku had heard her. Apparently he did, for a moment later, the air void was resealed, the only sound left were those of Inuyasha trying to hit Naraku with his sword and the buzzing of the poisonous insects. 

            Naraku jumped onto a far off roof, leaving Inuyasha in the middle the battlefield. Naraku seemed unfazed by Inuyasha's attempts to attack him, while Inuyasha was panting slightly.

            "Perhaps I should make the stage more interesting?" Naraku asked in an insufferable voice.

            "Shut up and prepare to fuckin' die!" Kouga shouted, charging at Naraku. Naraku simply evaded Kouga's attack, smiling slightly at the wolf's futile efforts.

            Suddenly, Sango saw a line of scarlet burst from Kouga's shoulder. Soon she heard the familiar sound of a metal chain returning to its owner.

            "K-Kohaku…" Sango gasped. Her brother was still alive, but for how long?

            "Kohaku, go kill that pesky exterminator," Naraku said, his eyes glinting with cool humor.

            "Naraku, you bastard," Inuyasha growled, readying himself to use the cutting wind. In the midst of Kohaku's entry, Kagura had forgotten to use her fan to prevent Inuyasha from using the cutting wind. Or had she? Sango saw that Kagura's face was relatively emotionless, her reaction speed seeming to be suspiciously slow. _This woman…she wishes for Naraku's death. I give you no pity, Naraku._

            "Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted, releasing a storm of wind blades that headed for Naraku. Naraku somehow formed a protective shield around himself that barely stood up against Tetsusaiga's attack. It was a close call, but the shield did its job, and Naraku remained unharmed. Sango didn't have any more time to pay attention to Naraku, for Kohaku started attacking her…again.

            "Kohaku, please remember!" Sango pleaded, wondering if it did any good at all. What was she going to do if Kohaku actually listened to her, though? Would she have the heart to kill her brother just to retrieve the Shikon shard in him?

            "Kohaku! Remember! You're not like this. Please return to the baby brother that I know you are. Please Kohaku," Sango begged, her vision starting to blur with the tears that were coming to her eyes. "Please don't do this." Her eyes, glistening with tears, did not see the attack Kohaku issued before it was too late.

            She felt the sharp edge of Kohaku's blade embed itself into her back. _This is…this is just like before._

            "Kohaku…" She pulled at the chain that connected the blade to Kohaku, causing him to trip and lose hold of his weapon._ I won't allow Naraku to use you anymore. If it takes my life to free yours, then I will._

            Kohaku immediately stood up again, unsheathing his small dagger, ready to attack her again.

            _Naraku had said that it is Kohaku who does not wish to remember._ _Why?_

            "Kohaku," Sango said, her voice as piercing as the steel blade that was still in her back. _Because Chichi-ue and the others died by his hand? _"Wake up from this spell that you have cast upon yourself!"

            She yanked the blade out of her back with a strong pull at the chain. This had never been her best weapon, but she could use it well enough.

            "Kohaku!" Sango shouted, hoping her voice carried loud enough so that Kohaku could hear her among the sound of the others battling. "No one blames you." She swung the blade towards Kohaku, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. The blade swung towards him, but with a yank from Sango, the blade circled Kohaku and headed back to Sango, tying Kohaku up and causing him to be pulled towards Sango.

            She caught her brother as he was about to fall from the force of the chain, hugging him tightly so that he could not issue any attacks. But his body was strangely slack, unlike the tense body of an enemy that had fallen into his opponent's hands. Was Kohaku actually listening to her?

            "Kohaku, no one blames you," Sango said softly into her brother's hair. "It is because…you didn't do anything that night. You didn't do anything except help us attack that spider youkai. You helped us defeat the youkai, Kohaku. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." She hugged Kohaku tighter. "I should have realized that the youkai was there… I should have prevented it all from happening. I was more experienced, yet I still let everyone down. Everything is my fault. I-I'm sorry, Kohaku," she said, crying into Kohaku's shoulder. She felt her sobs shake her body.

            _Kohaku, I'm sorry. I should have been able to protect you, but even in the end, all I did was watch you get shot and die. You died because you ran to me… If I had not been there, perhaps you would still be alive. I wasn't able to protect you, not from the spell, nor the arrows, nor from Naraku's evil plans. Please, please forgive your sister._

            "Ane-ue," a small voice whispered. Sango gasped, holding Kohaku far enough so that she could look into his face. _Kohaku… You look like yourself again._

            She held him close again, sobbing happily. _Kohaku. I have Kohaku back again._

            "Ane-ue, the chains," he started.

            "Sorry, Kohaku," Sango said, immediately removing the chain that was wrapped around him. She accidentally cut her hand when she reached the end of the chain, near the blade.

            "Ane-ue, you're hurt!" Kohaku said, his voice full of concern.

            "No, Kohaku," Sango said, her face lighting up with happiness, "You've healed me, Kohaku."

            "What?" her brother asked, confused.

            _I will explain it to you after the battle. But for now, I'm going to help Inuyasha defeat Naraku._

            "Kohaku, get yourself to a safe place," she said, unsheathing her sword. "I'm going to deal with Naraku."

            "Ane-ue, don't!" Kohaku pleaded, trying to drag her away from the battlefield. "That's—"

            He was never able to finish the sentence for at that moment, Naraku used a long tentacle to pluck the Shikon shard out of Kohaku.

            "Kohaku!" Sango screamed as she watched her brother fall again.

            _No… No, this can't be happening. Not again, please._

            "Kohaku," Sango said, her voice soft with despair at losing her brother again.

            "Ane-ue, it's okay. I accept this. I-I should have died with Chichi-ue and the others long ago... Don't-don't be sad." She was silent as she watched what little life that had been resurrected in Kohaku slip away. "Ane-ue…"

            His body crumbled into dust, leaving Sango with nothing except his blood-stained blade.

            "Your concern for your brother is amusing," Naraku commented, his fight with Inuyasha having stopped when he had taken the Shikon shard from Kohaku.

            Sango clutched the ashes of what used to be her brother. No tears fell, not this time. She felt Kohaku's ashes sting the cut on her hand, but she only clenched her fist harder. She felt fury, pure white fury rise through her, pounding her brain, squeezing her heart. She lowered her head, trying to contain her emotion.

"DAMN YOU NARAKU!" she screamed, her cold eyes drilling into Naraku, her voice piercing through all other sounds of the battle. With anger coursing through her veins, she ignored her injuries and used Kohaku's blade to cut the roof where Hiraikotsu was, sending the boomerang to tumble down along with the roof. She then yanked the blade towards Naraku.

            She let go of the end of the chain which allowed her to control the direction of the blade. The blade flashed brightly against the dark night, heading to kill the one that had cursed her brother, unrestrained by its chain. She dove towards Hiraikotsu, ignoring the burning pain in her back.

            She turned to hear the sound of something shattering. Kanna had tried to use the mirror to deflect the blade's attack, but had failed. Kohaku's weapon had shattered Kanna's mirror, leaving the girl with no weapon.

            "Die, Naraku!" She threw Hiraikotsu at Naraku with all her might. He deflected the boomerang with a shield that was similar to the one he had used again Inuyasha's attack. But this time, it was much stronger, due to the power of the Shikon shard.

            Sango caught the boomerang and felt the wound in her back opening more with the anger she felt. Suddenly she saw an arrow of light fly through Naraku's barrier, knocking the Shikon shard from his hand by purifying the hand so that the hand had melted away.

            In Sango's dazed state, she saw Shippou run quickly to retrieve the Shikon shard. She saw Kanna pick up Kohaku's weapon, looking as if she was about to attack Shippou.

            _Shippou, look out behind you!_

            She heard the familiar clang of Miroku's weapon shield Shippou from attack. She turned around, about to tell Kagome to shoot another arrow at Naraku when she saw him blast a ball of energy at her.

            _Oh, no… Kirara!?_

            The cat scooped up Kagome quickly, but not fast enough. They were both caught in the force of the blast.

            "Kagome!" _Inuyasha… I don't think Kagome's…_

            She saw Inuyasha pick up an unconscious, but otherwise unharmed, Kagome, and a rather beaten up, untransformed, Kirara. Kirara had protected Kagome in the blast. She watched as Inuyasha set Kagome and Kirara down a little ways off from the battlefield. Shippou caught up with Inuyasha, and she saw Inuyasha and Shippou exchange a few words. Then he rushed back to the battlefield, Tetsusaiga out, ready to kill someone.


	4. Battle of Distractions

Complete the Circle Chapter Four: Battle of Distractions 

            He charged at Naraku, smirking when he saw Naraku widen his eyes. _So he hadn't expected me to be this strong, eh? I'll teach him never to underestimate his opponents! Then again, isn't that what I'm doing right now? Feh! Who cares?_

            Inuyasha brushed the thought aside as he swung Tetsusaiga at Naraku. _Can't use the cutting wind right now, Kagura's made sure of that._

            Naraku evaded his attack, but then, he had been expecting it.

            "Kukuku. You'll have to do better than that."

            Inuyasha buried his anger under him. He would need a clear head for this battle. _My last battle… No! Stop it already! Just concentrate on defeating Naraku. That's all that matters._

            He heard Sango yell "Hiraikotsu" and try to attack Naraku with her boomerang, but the attack was reflected by Kanna.

            He tried to slash at Naraku again, but the slimy youkai evaded him again. Inuyasha saw Sango kick Hiraikotsu back at Naraku.

            _So the taiji-ya-san has learned from her mistake last time. Now, if her attack can reach Naraku and distract him, I might have a chance to end this…_

            His hopes were dashed away when Kagura used her fan to blow Hiraikotsu onto the roof.

            "Fuujin no mai!" __

_            Shit! Someone help Sango!_

            "Kaza Ana!" He saw Miroku use his air void to suck in the wind blades. _Miroku…_ His nose picked up the scent of the monk's blood. Had he cut his air void when he had sucked in the wind blades? His sensitive ears picked up the sound of Saimyoushou coming.

            _I hope your skills with other weapons can save you because it doesn't look like anyone is going to have the time or ability to help you later, Sango._

            Inuyasha swung the large Tetsusaiga at Naraku, hoping to catch him with a lucky swing. _If only I could use the Kaze no Kizu… Wait! I can! I remember, the battle with the dragon! What's wrong with me, forgetting such an important piece of information as that? It won't be to its full power, but it'll have to do._

            He swung the sword, but nothing happened. _What? Why didn't it work?_

            He saw Kagura deliberately attack Kouga so that the wind left over from her attacks were enough to disrupt the spiral of wind around the Tetsusaiga.__

_            You have it all planned out, don't you, Naraku?_

            He swung wildly at Naraku again, taking out his frustration in his swings. Naraku dodged his attacks seemingly effortlessly, but Inuyasha could smell the beginning of fatigue in him. Naraku suddenly jumped onto the roof, leaving Inuyasha in the middle of the courtyard.

            _Getting tired, Naraku? What tricks do you have to distract us this time?_

"Perhaps I should make the stage more interesting?" Inuyasha felt chilled by the evil that Naraku radiated. Naraku had better not do what he thought he was going to do.

            _Don't you dare use Kohaku against Sango, you bastard._

"Shut up and prepare to fuckin' die!" Inuyasha was surprised by Kouga's sudden statement. Wasn't Kouga occupied with fighting Kagura?

            _That's right. Kouga knows how it feels to have your own friends used against you. Kagura had used his people to trick him. Guess he doesn't like to see Naraku torture the living with the dead._

            He saw Naraku evade Kouga's attacks. _Stupid wolf. If you hadn't yelled, you might have had a better chance at defeating him. Even with the shikon shards in your legs, you're still not fast enough to defeat Naraku that way._

            Inuyasha saw a line of red blood burst from Kouga's shoulder. He heard the sound of metal clinking, and knew immediately that Naraku was going to use the same trick from last time.

            _Are you running out of ideas, Naraku? Always sending Kohaku to kill Sango is getting a bit old. I should have known that you would always use your old tricks. After all, why throw it away when it is still effective? It worked between Kikyo and me, so why shouldn't it work for Sango and Kohaku?_

            Inuyasha heard Sango call her brother's name painfully. It was like when he had seen Kikyo resurrected.

            _Damn you, Naraku. I'll kill you. Even if it takes me a hundred lifetimes, I swear, I'll kill you._

            He heard Naraku give Sango's brother the orders to kill his sister. If Kohaku ever succeeded in killing Sango, his soul would never be able to rest again. He would become a demonic spirit that would ultimately spend the rest of his existence in hell. _Kind of like Mayu, except Kagome won't be able to even touch his soul enough to heal it. Kohaku's soul would forever be lost._

            "Naraku, you bastard," he growled, his nose picking up the wound of the wind. So Kagura had stopped her fanning long enough for him to use the cutting wind. _Figures. It's pretty obvious that she's working for Naraku against her will. She'll give us an advantage whenever she can, but I have a feeling that this is the last time that she'll be able to aid us. Sad really. Even your own "allies" betray you, Naraku. Sucks to be you._

            "Kaze no Kizu!" he yelled.

            The power of the cutting wind was blocked by the shield that Naraku had somehow formed around himself. _Why didn't Tetsusaiga cut through the barrier? Has Naraku somehow found a barrier youkai and absorbed it into himself?_

            He didn't have any more time to think on the matter for Naraku started to attack him with his tentacles. Inuyasha barely had enough time to dodge the disgusting things, much less issue any attacks. He continuously chopped at the tentacles, but the tentacles kept on reattaching to the main body, just like the tentacles that Naraku's puppets always had.

            _Wouldn't it be funny if I were really just fighting another one of Naraku's puppets? But this Naraku seems too powerful just to be one of his little puppets. _

            He heard the sounds of Kouga trying to escape from Kagura's attacks. At least the wolf was still okay. Hopefully Kouga could defeat Kagura quickly so that he could come and help fight Naraku. As much as Inuyasha didn't want to admit it, he needed all the help he could get to defeat Naraku.

            Suddenly, he smelled Sango's blood. _Damn! Did Kohaku succeed in hurting Sango?_ He smelled more blood from Sango, and evaded another one of Naraku's tentacles as he tried to see what was happening to Sango. _You better not die on me, Sango._

            He saw her swing the chain that Kohaku had back at Kohaku. _Is she really going to kill Kohaku?_ The chain suddenly pulled to the side and circled around Kohaku before heading back to Sango. He saw Sango catch her brother and hug him tightly. _Very clever, Sango, but don't let your guard down. We don't know what Naraku has planned for us._

            He swung Tetsusaiga at Naraku again, but he just dodged the attack again, except this time he was slightly slower. _You really are getting tired, aren't you? _He smelled the salty scent of tears. _Has Kohaku returned to you, Sango? If you don't want him to get hurt, get Kohaku away from this battle._

            Inuyasha unleashed a series of slashes at Naraku. He smirked as he saw one of his attacks cut into Naraku, but the smirk was immediately wiped from his face. _Something's wrong here…_

            Suddenly a tentacle shot out of Naraku and into Kohaku. Inuyasha stood there, shocked, as Naraku took the Shikon shard out of Kohaku, sending the boy to his death again. He vaguely heard Sango scream her brother's name as his fury at Naraku built up. He wanted nothing more than to use Tetsusaiga's ougi to send the monster to hell, but he couldn't smell the place where he could issue the attack. Kagura waving her fan around was no help either.

Suddenly, he felt his ears about to explode as Sango screamed at Naraku, and a moment later, his ringing ears picked up the sound of a roof being destroyed. He saw something glint in the dark battlefield and heard something being shattered. _Sango is definitely scary when she's angry,_ he thought absentmindedly. He saw Hiraikotsu fly towards Naraku, but Naraku's shield, boosted with the power from the Shikon shard, deflected the attack. _How are we supposed to defeat him if he keeps on shielding himself?_ Inuyasha thought angrily.

            His irritation turned to surprise as one of Kagome's arrows pierced through the barrier and melted Naraku's hand. He saw Shippou out of the corner of his eye dash to retrieve the shard. He heard the clinking sound of metal and knew that someone had picked up Kohaku's weapon. He turned around in time to see Kanna raise the weapon over her head to kill Shippou, and started to dash towards the small kitsune. _I won't make it in time!_

He felt immensely relived as Miroku stopped his battle with Naraku's puppet briefly enough to save Shippou. _Huh? When did Naraku's puppet arrive? Damn! What else did I miss while I was trying to hit Naraku?_

            He felt the hair on his neck stand on end as an enormous ball of energy was shot from Naraku. _What? The attack isn't headed towards Shippou or I, then who…? Shit! Kagome!_

            He saw the blast head towards Kagome even as Kirara tried to escape with Kagome.

            "Kagome!" he yelled, dashing towards her. _Please don't let her be dead. Please don't let her be dead._

Panic was starting to overwhelm him as he arrived by Kagome's side. _She isn't moving… Please be alive!_ He gently scooped her up and saw that she was just unconscious. _Stupid wench. Always making me worried. _He felt incredibly relieved and scooped up Kirara in his other arm after sheathing Tetsusaiga. _I owe you one, Kirara._

            He placed the two unconscious figures far from the battle, but still close enough so that he could keep an eye on her. Shippou arrived a few moments later.

            "I-Inuyasha, is Kagome…?" the little boy asked, afraid of the answer.

            "She's alive," Inuyasha replied tersely. He felt bad for being short with Shippou, for the boy currently had such a sad and despairing face on.

            "Listen, Shippou," he said, his voice more quiet and calm than usual. "I'm counting on you to protect her. If—" He paused, unsure of how to continue. "If for some reason, I am unable to take her back to her world, I want you to do it for me."

            "What do you mean, Inuyasha?" the boy asked, panic apparent in his voice. "What do you mean 'unable to take her back to her world?' Inuyasha!"

            "Just do as I say, brat," Inuyasha replied, hoping to make Shippou start behaving like he usually did. _I hate it when people get all weird on me._

            "I'm not a brat!" Shippou retorted, his usual anger at Inuyasha insulting him slipping into place.

            "Then do as I say!" Inuyasha shouted. He continued on a much more calmer tone, "Shippou. If worst comes to worst, seal the well."

            With that, Inuyasha ran back to Naraku, sword out, ready to hurt Naraku for what he did to Kagome. But what he had really wanted to do was to avoid a boy's innocent questions. 

            _The least I can do is hurt Naraku enough so that he won't be able to get Kagome. Feh! I'll kill him for what he did to all of us._ Somehow, even Inuyasha couldn't believe his own words anymore.

            A little ways off, the crows started to shift their wings restlessly.


	5. The Puppet Naraku

Complete the Circle Chapter Five: The Puppet Naraku 

                He was slightly surprised when he saw Inuyasha evade both Kanna and Kagura to attack Naraku. The hanyou had certainly gotten stronger the past year.

            _I hope you're strong enough to defeat Naraku. I'm betting Naraku has a few tricks up his sleeve that we don't know about. I would be cautious if I were you, Inuyasha. Then again, you're not exactly the most cautious person I've ever seen. You always fight on instinct._

            Sango startled him out of his thoughts as she swung Hiraikotsu at Naraku. _Sango, watch out for Kanna._ He was left in awe as he saw Sango leap gracefully into the air and deliver a well-aimed kick at Hiraikotsu, sending the giant boomerang to soar faster than ever towards Naraku.

            He was about to congratulate Sango on a well-delivered attack when Kagura used her fan to blow Hiraikotsu onto the roof. _I should have remembered about Kagura._ He turned in time to see Kagura send blades of wind at Sango.

            "Sango, watch out!" he shouted, dashing to her. He saw Sango see the attack too late, and knew that she wouldn't be able to escape Kagura's attacks.

_            I guess I have no choice but to use my air void. I hope there aren't any Saimyoushou around._

            "Kaza Ana!" he yelled, sucking the wind blades into his air rip. He felt the blades of wind cut into his palm. _Shit! The air void is ripped. If I use it anymore before getting it fixed, I might as well prepare for my own funeral tonight._ He immediately closed the hold in his hand, feeling the blood trickle out from his palm. Then he heard the buzzing of the Saimyoushou.

            He turned towards the sound, and saw a familiar baboon pelt diving away from the other's sight. _So, Naraku you bastard, were you trying to kill us while our backs were turned?_ He was about to move towards the puppet Naraku, but was stopped when Naraku jumped onto the roof.

            "Perhaps I should make the stage more interesting?" _Are you trying to distract us even more? What do you have planned Naraku? How many puppets are you going to use?_

            "Shut up and prepare to fuckin' die!" Kouga yelled. Miroku saw him jump over Kagura's head and dash towards Naraku. He saw Naraku smile slightly as he moved away, allowing Kohaku to attack the wolf.

            So, master puppeteer, you use Kohaku against Sango. How predictable. But I have a feeling that your predictable actions are covering something, and I'm going to find out what exactly you have planning.

            He jumped onto the roof where the puppet Naraku had disappeared as he saw Sango pleading with Kohaku. _Naraku, I'll make you pay for hurting Sango like this._

            The roof was empty, except for some Saimyoushou that kept buzzing around him and annoying him. He heard the sound of metal cutting flesh, and immediately turned towards Sango. Her brother's blade was in her back, and he grew angry as he saw Kohaku heartlessly draw a dagger from his sheath. _What kind of brother are you, anyway?_

_            You're not being fair, _the calm part of him stated. _Right, Kohaku was being brainwashed by Naraku to do evil things. Still, couldn't the boy even resist somehow?_

_            Don't be unreasonable!_ He shoved his emotions within him again, and was about to turn around and find the other Naraku when he saw Sango yank the blade out of her back to swing it at Kohaku. He flinched as he saw ribbons of blood flow from Sango's back as she pulled Kohaku into her embrace. _I don't think I can be as strong as you Sango…_

            _Oh well, the important thing now is to find out what that Naraku is up to._ He searched around the roof and soon found what he was looking for.

            "Kukuku, so I have been discovered," the puppet laughed. "Took you long enough, Houshi-sama."

            _So this puppet was sent to occupy me. That makes perfect sense. Inuyasha fights Naraku, Kouga fights Kagura, and Sango fights Kohaku… Is he sending Kanna to fight Kagome? Is he going to try and take Kagome's soul again?_

            "Let's finish this quickly because I have other matters to attend to," Miroku said calmly, readying his staff. The buzzing of the Saimyoushou reminded him that he wasn't going to be able to use his air void. _I have a feeling that I still haven't gotten to the bottom of what Naraku is trying to do._

            Kagome stood close to Kirara, trying to find a perfect time to fire her arrow at Naraku. But he kept moving so fast and Inuyasha kept on weaving in and out of the numerous tentacles so that she still didn't have a clear shot of Naraku. She saw Kanna standing near Naraku, ready to protect him when she needed to. _I don't have to shoot her because she's just following Naraku's orders. The main person I'm going to have to shoot is Naraku, so I'll just do my best to concentrate on that._

            She had been worried when Kohaku had started to attack Sango again, but she knew that Sango could take care of herself, so placed her full concentration on Naraku. _How weird… Naraku doesn't have the Shikon shard on him. Where did he put it?_ She didn't sense the aura of the Shikon shard from Naraku, but she knew that it was somewhere in the castle. _I'll have to tell Inuyasha about this later._

            She frowned as she felt the aura of a large piece of the Shikon no Tama shift. _What does this mean?_

            She didn't have time to think as she saw a tentacle strike out from Naraku and pluck out the Shikon shard in Kohaku. She saw Kohaku crumble to dust and Sango scream as she threw Kohaku's weapon at Naraku. Kanna appeared immediately, and Kagome flinched inwardly as she saw the mirror shatter from the force of Sango's throw. Hiraikotsu was soon soaring through the air to Naraku, only to be bounced back by Naraku's shield.

            _No one's moving because of this turn of events. Now's my chance to bring Naraku down._ Her hands were shaking as she fired the arrow, hoping that her aim was true and would end her friends' pain. The arrow did not strike into Naraku's heart as she intended, but instead hit the hand that held the Shikon shard, melting it. She saw Shippou dash off to retrieve the shard before Naraku got it again.

            She saw Kanna appear behind Shippou and take Kohaku's weapon. _Shippou-chan, watch out behind you!_ She couldn't pay any more attention on Shippou for at that moment, she saw Naraku shoot an orb of energy at her.

            She was frozen to her spot as the orb came closer and closer and she was vaguely aware of Kirara scooping her up and trying to escape the blast. Her last conscious thought was that she felt a huge chunk of the Shikon no Tama get closer to her.

            Shippou felt utterly useless as he watched the others fight. Kouga was fighting Kagura, and Inuyasha was trying his best to injure Naraku, while Sango was fighting Kohaku. Kirara made sure that the Saimyoushou didn't bother him or Kagome while Kagome was trying to find a good time to release her arrow. _Where'd Miroku go? He wouldn't run away at a time like this, would he?_

_            Well if he did, he would still be doing more than me._

            Shippou was startled when Kagome suddenly fired her arrow. He saw the arrow melt Naraku's hand, and immediately ran after the Shikon shard. _At least I'm doing something now._

            He retrieved the shard and was about to head back towards Kagome when he heard the sound of Miroku's staff striking against a metal. He looked up and saw that Miroku had protected him from Kanna. **_Why_ **_am I so **useless**? I can't even get a simple shard without getting hurt!_

            His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Kagome get blasted by Naraku. _Oh no, Kagome!_ He ran as fast as he could, which was faster than usual. _Wha-? Oh yeah, the Shikon shard._ He saw that he had clutched the shard so tightly that it had become slightly embedded in his palm. _I hope Kagome doesn't mind if I borrow it a bit. I hope you're okay, Kagome._

            He followed Inuyasha as he carried Kagome away from the battle. He stood up next to him, anxiety and fear clouding his mind, making him feel shaky and empty.

            "I-Inuyasha, is Kagome…?" He hated himself for speaking in such a shaky voice.

            "She's alive," Inuyasha snapped. _Oh no… If only I could have done something. It's all my fault. If only…if only I was stronger, this wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry, Kagome._

            "Listen, Shippou," Inuyasha said in a strangely calm voice. _He-he's using the same voice as the time when he told us to run away with Kagome. No! I won't do it! I won't run away, Inuyasha! I'll never leave you even if you beat me into a pulp!_

"I'm counting on you to protect her." _What? What, Inuyasha? What are you saying?_

"If—"_ No! I don't want to hear it! _Shippou felt his heart almost jump out of his chest with all the worry and fear that he felt. "If for some reason, I am unable to take her back to her world, I want you to do it for me." _What are you talking about, Inuyasha? What do you mean? I won't do it! You're going to take Kagome back! You're going to defeat Naraku and we'll all be happy again. You're the one who's going to protect Kagome!!!_

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?" He felt the words tumble out of his mouth. "What do you mean 'unable to take her back to her world?' Inuyasha!" 

            "Just do as I say, brat." Shippou felt anger start to course through his veins.

            "I'm not a brat!" he shouted. _Stupid Inuyasha, why are you insulting me at a time like this? Why?_

"Then do as I say!" _Why should I do anything? You're going to be there when this is all over, Inuyasha. You have to! You can't leave me, too! Don't leave me, Inuyasha!_

            "Shippou." Inuyasha's calm voice broke through the storm in Shippou's mind. "If worst comes to worst, seal the well." _What? No!_

            "Inuyasha, what do you—" but Inuyasha had already run off towards Naraku, Tetsusaiga out and ready to use. _Don't leave me like my mom and dad did, Inuyasha! Don't leave Kagome by herself!_


	6. The True Naraku

**Complete the Circle**

Chapter Six: The True Naraku 

            Inuyasha fought with Naraku, neither really able to harm the other. Inuyasha saw Sango and Miroku fighting a puppet Naraku, and Kouga fighting Kagura. Kanna was picking up the broken pieces of her mirror. _Is she trying to fix her mirror?_

Just then, Kouga stumbled over a rock that Kanna had placed there and was cut by Kagura's wind. Kagura was about to finish him off while he was still on the ground, but Inuyasha had rushed over to Kagura and knocked the fan out of her hand.

            _Something is strange here. It's almost as if she deliberately let me knock the fan out of her hand. And Kanna placing the rock… It's almost as if this entire thing was staged._

            "Dog-turd, you're getting in my way!" Kouga growled, standing next to him with hostility in his eyes.

            "You wimpy wolf! You would be dead if it wasn't for me!" Inuyasha would have insulted the wolf more if he hadn't heard Kagome's voice.

            "Don't you try anything, Naraku," she said, an arrow poised to be fired. Inuyasha turned around and saw that while he was bickering with Kouga, Naraku had tried to sneak up on him and attack him.

            "Looks like you need a girl to save your life, Dog-turd," Kouga said, causing Inuyasha to lose his temper. But he couldn't do anything for at that moment, Naraku fired another ball of energy at Kagome.

            "Kagome!" he shouted, running towards her.

            "Kyaa!" she screamed, firing the arrow. The arrow had no effect against the ball of energy, and was still headed to demolish Kagome.

            Inuyasha quickly scooped Kagome up and jumped away from the blast. He was surprised when he felt something sharp pierce his heart.

            "Na-Naraku."

            The wound in Sango's back was starting to affect her. As she tried to defeat the puppet Naraku, she kept feeling the emptiness of losing her brother and the hatred of her people's deaths collide with each other, making her feel weak. But still, she pushed on. _I'm not the best youkai exterminator in my village for nothing. I will defeat this puppet and get my revenge on the real Naraku._

            She saw her chance to slice the puppet in half when she saw Miroku cut off a large group of roots with his staff. She brought Hiraikotsu down through the puppet like a sword, slicing it in half. The puppet disappeared, leaving only a wooden figure with a single strand of hair tied around it, broken into two halves. 

            "We better go help Inuyasha," Miroku said, panting slightly.

            Sango nodded and turned towards Naraku, only to see Inuyasha suddenly dash off and knock the fan out of Kagura's hands. _Inuyasha wha-? _She saw Kouga on the ground and immediately understood. _So you went to save Kouga? And you're always saying that you don't care. So even while fighting Naraku you're still keeping an eye on us._

            "Don't you try anything, Naraku." Sango saw Kagome with an arrow in her bow, ready to fire it at Naraku. _Kagome sure recovers quickly. I didn't even notice that she was there._

            Sango saw Kouga say something that made Inuyasha angry. _Probably taunting Inuyasha again. When will those two ever get along?_

            All of a sudden, a bright orb of energy appeared from Naraku. Sango gasped as she saw the ball of energy head towards Kagome. _Kagome, run!_ She heard Kagome scream. _Inuyasha!_

            She saw Inuyasha use all of his speed to grab Kagome and leap into the air, evading the blast.

            _Thank goodness…_

            Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a tentacle suddenly shoot out from where Inuyasha's heart would be. She saw the pearls of blood seeming to float in the air before staining the ground below. The red of Inuyasha's coat turned black as she saw a liquid form of miasma ooze from the tentacle, poisoning the hanyou.

            _Wha-what's happening?_ She felt herself trembling as she fell to the ground in shock, sitting on her legs as the debris from the roof she destroyed earlier dug into her legs.

            Inuyasha felt the piercing pain of the tentacle shoot through his heart. He felt his nerves ripple with agony and his heart burst beads of blood with every beat that the heart tried to issue. He could feel his heart tearing as it tried to pump blood while the tentacle was still in him. Soon, the pain from his wound started to fade away as he began to feel numb.

            He saw that Naraku was injecting a liquid miasma into his wound to insure his death. His blood was beginning to turn black with the poison. He felt his consciousness begin to slip away.

            _Using Kagome's image to trick me… I have to hand it to you, Naraku. I never expected this to happen._

            He looked into the face that Naraku had borrowed. On her face was an expression of pure hatred. It was nearly the same expression that Kikyo had on when she had shot him fifty years ago. But Inuyasha could see that beneath the image of anger, Naraku was smiling. It must have been his eyes, or perhaps his illusion was imperfect, but Inuyasha could tell that Naraku was laughing at him.

            He pushed Naraku away from him, swinging Tetsusaiga at him.

            _Kaze no Kizu._ He didn't have the energy to shout out his attack as usual. He was dimly aware of falling onto the ground and hearing the attack of the Tetsusaiga slice through Naraku.

            _It hurts. Through the poison I can still feel the wound in my heart. It feels…it feels like Kikyo's arrow._

            His eyes were beginning to become blurry. He looked up and saw the image of an angry Kagome turn into one of a smirking Naraku.

            _Even though I know that Kagome didn't wound me, and that it was Naraku, I still feel the same pain that I felt fifty years ago. _

_            Kagome didn't injure me._

_            Naraku did._

_            Kikyo didn't betray me._

_            Naraku did it._

_            That's what you were after, isn't it? To stain the Shikon no Tama with feelings of anguish, betrayal, and hatred._

_            Kagome… Kagome didn't hurt me._

_            Naraku is the one who did it._

_            But…but I still feel the same agony._

_            Not because of Naraku's illusion of Kagome. Not because of the hatred and anger I saw on Kagome, no, Naraku's face._

_            But because I am still unable to be with the one I care for, no, love. Just like fifty years ago._

_            I hate you, Naraku._

_            But that was what you were after all along, isn't it?_

            He was faintly aware of Naraku plunging something into his blood. But by then, he had already gone to death's door.

            Sango had watched, silent, unmoving, as Inuyasha pushed Kagome away from him and fell onto the ground. The blood immediately started to pool around him, and blood occasionally squirted from his wound as his heart kept on trying to pump blood, then finally slow down into a stop.

            _Inuyasha hit Kagome with the Kaze no Kizu?_

            Sango stared in shock as pieces of Kagome started to come together and combine themselves into a human again.

            _Kagome can't do that…_

Kagome walked up next to Inuyasha, an expression of anger and hatred on her face. She had a really large piece of the Shikon no Tama in her hand. Sango saw Kagome turn into a smirking Naraku.

            _Naraku?_ Her paralyzed mind couldn't piece the clues together. She saw Inuyasha stir slightly, as if to look at Naraku's face.

            She suddenly felt sick when Naraku took the Shikon shard and dipped it into Inuyasha's blood as if he were dipping one of the cookies Kagome brought from her world into milk.

            _That's right… The Shikon no Tama displays greater evil power when stained by blood tainted with hatred._

            _Kohaku… Is this what you were trying to tell me before…before Naraku took the shard out of you? _She suddenly felt her mind begin to move quickly again as she felt fury at Naraku's actions. _He killed Inuyasha. He killed Kohaku. He'll pay._

            "How dare you use Kagome's image against Inuyasha?" Sango shouted, throwing Hiraikotsu at Naraku. Kanna appeared suddenly and reflected the attack back at Sango. She barely caught the boomerang, her arm feeling like it was ripped out of its socket. She swung the boomerang again, her anger clouding her judgment.

            This time, Kagura used her fan to blow Hiraikotsu away._ So you've gotten your weapon back? Well it doesn't matter. The one I'm really after is Naraku._

            She jumped into the air and retrieved Hiraikotsu in midair. _If I can't throw it, then I'll use Hiraikotsu as a sword._ She ran towards Naraku, only to be blocked by Kagura. Sango swung the massive boomerang down on Kagura while Kagura tried to block the attack by using her wind blades.

            "Fuujin no mai!" Sango noted the desperation in Kagura's voice as she released her attack. She ignored the blades of wind cutting through her, and instead tried to bring Hiraikotsu down on Kagura again. Her back felt warm with blood and her vision was already beginning to swim. _It looks like I'll join you soon, Inuyasha,_ she thought grimly.

            She thought she heard Miroku yelling for her to stop, but she could have imagined it. Sango used Hiraikotsu to cut at some of the wind blades, jarring her already sore arm. She heard something cracking, but ignored it. _Kill Naraku. Kill Naraku. KILL NARAKU!_

            Hiraikotsu suddenly shattered.

            A tornado came from Kagura's fan, and Sango's world was soon bathed in darkness.


	7. Wish To Die

Complete the Circle Chapter Seven: Wish To Die 

            Miroku had been relieved when the puppet Naraku had been destroyed, but had felt something immensely wrong when he saw Inuyasha rush to Kagura to prevent her from killing Kouga. He had noticed an unusually large pebble next to Kouga, which was no doubt the cause of Kouga tripping. _Something's wrong. It's just too convenient._

            He was jarred out of his thoughts when he saw Naraku about to attack Inuyasha. _So, did you use Kouga as a distraction just so that you could kill Inuyasha? _He started to feel worried when Inuyasha started bickering with Kouga, not noticing Naraku about to attack him. _Inuyasha, you idiot, look behind you!_

            "Don't you try anything, Naraku," Kagome's voice rang out. He saw that Kagome already had an arrow ready to fire at Naraku. _Good thing Kagome was here, otherwise Inuyasha would be dead._

            Miroku felt as if though a bucket of ice was dumped onto him when Naraku blasted another ball of energy at Kagome, and Kagome's arrow had no effect on the attack. _Inuyasha will save her,_ he thought shakily.

            Sure enough, Inuyasha scooped Kagome up, jumping away from where the orb crashed. 

            He looked at Naraku again, to see his reaction with Inuyasha saving Kagome from his attack. Was he annoyed? Angry? _Why the hell is he smiling?_ If his experience was correct, smiling meant that something went as planned. Annoyance is disappointment that something did not go as planned. Anger is when something surprising happens that you didn't anticipate. _What do you have planned?_

            Miroku's question was immediately answered when he saw something sharp pierce through Inuyasha.

            _What?! What's going on? Why is Kagome attacking Inuyasha? Unless…_

            His fears were confirmed when he saw Inuyasha attack Kagome with the cutting wind, slicing the girl into a million bloody pieces. Or, it should have been bloody, but it wasn't. The pieces of what was Kagome, or most likely Naraku, converged together and became whole again.

            The illusion of Kagome walked up to the dying Inuyasha, transforming into Naraku. Miroku felt sick and angry at the same time when he saw Naraku dip the Shikon no Tama in Inuyasha's blood.

            _That's what you were after all along, wasn't it?_

            "How dare you use Kagome's image against Inuyasha?" he heard Sango shout, Hiraikotsu flying through the air. Kanna suddenly appeared and reflected the weapon back. _When did Kanna repair her mirror?_

            He saw Sango catch the weapon, the wound on her back bleeding a bit more with her efforts to catch the heavy weapon. He saw her recklessly throw the weapon again. This time, Kagura blew the giant boomerang away.

            Amazingly, Sango leapt into the air and retrieved Hiraikotsu, seeming to ignore the wound on her back that had gotten larger. Miroku could do nothing as Sango seemed to lose her reason, charging at Naraku again.

            _Sango, what are you doing? Are you trying to get killed?_ Miroku started to run after her. His heart twisted as he saw Sango get injured by Kagura's attacks. He saw her use Hiraikotsu to block and cut at the blades of wind, blood pouring out from her back, causing her black armor to glint in the afternoon sun of the dark battlefield.

            He saw the other puppet Naraku, the one who had shot the ball of energy at Kagome, move to kill Sango while she was distracted.

_Naraku, you had this planned from the beginning, didn't you? The puppet Sango and I fought was just to lead us to believe that you wouldn't use another puppet in this battle. You had used Kohaku to distract us so that you could get Kagome out of the picture. Then your true self arrived in the form of Kagome. You knew Inuyasha would save Kagome without a thought. Then you killed him and stained your part of the Shikon no Tama. Ingenious, really. I have to give you credit for that much._

He used his staff to cut the puppet Naraku in half while the puppet was occupied in trying to kill Sango. _One down, and three to go._ He tried not to look at Inuyasha as he turned towards Sango.

He saw Sango try to cut Kagura with Hiraikotsu. Her face was pale and it was obvious that she needed to tend to her wounds. He saw Sango receive more cuts from Kagura's winds.

"Sango, stop! You're going to get killed!" Miroku shouted, but doubted that Sango was able to hear him. He rushed to help Sango fight against Kagura, only to hear the sound of something cracking.

It better not be what I think it is.

He saw Hiraikotsu crack and shatter into the wind.

Kagura unleashed her tornado attack on Sango. She almost dodged it. Almost.

Sango had twisted away from the swirling tornado, almost like she was performing the step to some intricate dance. But a stray strand of wind had escaped from the tornado, cutting the delicate skin on her neck. A scarlet stream of silk flowed from her throat, horrifyingly beautiful in its gruesome state.

_Sango!_ He didn't know if he had shouted her name out loud or not. He ran quickly to her side, afraid to touch her, yet afraid that if he didn't, he would never know if she were dead or alive. Miroku knelt by her side, holding her wrist in his hand. _No pulse. Nothing. This can't be the end for you. I… I… I never even asked you to bear my child yet…_

He felt involuntary tears come to his eyes, the salty warm crystals flowing on his cheek before falling off into the darkness of Sango's armor. _I… I always thought that I would be the first of us to die. That I would be the one who would leave and make you sad. But…instead, it is I who feel the sadness of your departure. Why? Why?! Why do I have to be the one who feels this sadness again?_

_Inuyasha left…then you… Is the world bent on making me feel sorrow for losing the people I care about?_

_The air void made me lose my grandfather and my father. My father was sad when my grandfather was sucked by his air void. It was my turn to feel sad when the same fate occurred on my father. I didn't want anyone to suffer the sadness I went through when my father disappeared, but instead, I feel the sadness again because…_

_Because I let myself care about others. I should have just limited the people I cared about to my foster father. That way, no one would have been hurt either way._

_The air void… It should have swallowed me long ago. It should have ended my life before yours._

_The air void…_

_Naraku's curse._

How ironic that I should use it against him.

He stood up, his face lowered, revealing nothing. Suddenly he looked up, his wet eyes shimmering in the glare of the afternoon sun.

"Kaza Ana!" 

He saw the Saimyoushou fly immediately into the air rip, poisoning him. This time, he didn't feel a thing.

The afternoon sun… The time when lives end… 

He saw Kanna's mirror fly into his void, soon followed by Kanna herself. And still the Saimyoushou continued to poison him.

Sango… I'm fighting a losing battle. I knew since the beginning of my quest that I would never be able to defeat Naraku by myself.

Kagura unleashed a volley of wind blades in a desperate attempt to prevent herself from being swallowed by Naraku's curse. The blades of wind cut into the monk's palm, opening the air void wider, making it more powerful.

I'll use the air void to make as much damage as I can, but still, I'm giving up. Would you be mad at me, Inuyasha?

Kagura was swallowed by the pull of the air rip. He could see Naraku try to get himself away from the monk, but the power of his curse was too strong.

I welcome you into the air void you created, Naraku.

He saw a tentacle suddenly shoot out from Naraku, heading in back of him and finally piercing his spinal chord, the sharp end sticking out of his throat. Miroku didn't even try to feel the pain. He had expected to die anyway.


	8. A Sealed Fate

Complete the Circle Chapter Eight: A Sealed Fate 

            Shippou had seen Inuyasha run to help Kouga when Kouga had tripped and fell, but the thing that caught his attention was the black haired lady wearing foreign clothes with an arrow ready to fire, standing in the middle of the battlefield.

            _Kagome? _Shippou looked to the girl next to him. _No, Kagome's right here. But how can she be over there…?_

            He heard Kagome's voice from his position, but couldn't quite make out the words that she was saying. _Why are there two Kagomes? That doesn't make any sense at all. Unless… Unless…_

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted at the dog demon, hoping to catch his attention.__

            Didn't Miroku once say that Naraku can change shape at will? Then what if the Kagome over there is fake? I have to tell Inuyasha about this, before it's too late.

            "Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted at the top of his lungs, but was drowned out by the sound of the blast that Naraku threw at the fake Kagome.

            "No!" Shippou shouted as he saw Inuyasha dive to save Kagome. "Inuyasha! That's a fake! Inuyasha!"

            He watched in horrid silence as the illusion of Kagome killed Inuyasha. He remained immobile, staring as he saw Kagura slit Sango's throat with a stray wind. He did nothing as Miroku used his air void to destroy Kanna and Kagura, only to be silenced by Naraku.

            _"If for some reason, I am unable to take her back to her world, I want you to do it for me."_ He saw Kouga try to attack Naraku, only to be brushed aside by Naraku's tentacle. _"If worst comes to worst, seal the well."_

_            Inuyasha… Did you know this was going to happen?_

            "I'm counting on you to protect her."

_            You knew, didn't you? _Shippou felt his eyes start to brim with tears. _Then why did you go? Why? _Tears started to slide off his face.__

_I… I HATE YOU, INUYASHA!_

            "I'm counting on you to protect her."

_            I hate you! _

_…but I'll keep my promise._

_I'll protect Kagome._

He clenched his fist in determination, feeling the Shikon shard from earlier dig into his palms. _I'll protect Kagome, even if it's the last thing I do._

I won't let anyone harm her as long as I'm alive, Inuyasha. For the first time, you can count on me to do this. I won't let you down.

Shippou looked at Kagome, who was still unconscious next to the untransformed Kirara. He could feel Naraku shift his eyes onto him. _I'll have to move fast to get Kagome and Kirara away from here. Naraku's probably going to come soon. But how? Kagome is way bigger than me. _He saw Kouga move to distract Naraku out of the corner of his eye. 

_That's it! The Shikon shard!_ Shippou looked at the glowing shard that was still partially embedded in his hand. _Please, lend me your power. Kagome, I hope you won't get mad at me for borrowing this a bit._

He felt himself growing taller and more muscular. He saw his usual clothes become replaced by blood red ones. His hair fell on his back from the ponytail he used to have it in, turning silver, and he knew that his ears had shifted to the top of his head.

"All right, Kagome, Kirara," he said, his voice deeper than his own. "I'm going to keep my promise to Inuyasha." He scooped the two up into his strong arms, leaping away from the battlefield. _Wow, Kagome feels so light. Inuyasha's **this **strong?_

He was dimly aware of the woods speeding past him, but he paid them no mind. _I've got to get to the well. I've got to get Kagome to her world. I've got to seal the well._

He started to run faster, noting that Kirara was awake and looking at him funny.

"Kirara, it's me, Shippou," he clarified, hoping that the cat youkai believed him. She seemed to for she relaxed in his arms, allowing him to carry her a bit farther.

"Almost there," he said to himself more than to anyone else. He soon saw the well that he used to dread looking at for it used to remind him that Kagome would always have to leave no matter what. It never looked more inviting and…permanent.

He leapt into the well, holding the still unconscious Kagome, with Kirara grabbing onto his arm. He noticed that the sun had hardly moved since Kagome was knocked unconscious. _I can't believe so many things had happened in such a short time. I can't believe Inuyasha and the others…_

He charmed the small statue that he had carried around him, before being swallowed up by the bone gobbling well.

She had arrived at the battlefield too late. Inuyasha and two of his friends were already dead, and she saw a wolf youkai running away from Naraku, kicking up a storm of dust. She fired an arrow at the shape-shifting demon, melting his entire left leg off.

"You didn't listen to my warning carefully enough, Naraku," she stated calmly, another arrow ready to fire.

"Ah, Kikyo. Do you mean this dog demon?" he replied with equal calm, smirking slightly, ignoring his missing leg which promptly grew back. "He was incredibly gullible and easy to destroy."

She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. She spotted the stained Shikon shard in Naraku's hand.

"Yet you were still unable to complete the Shikon no Tama, correct?" she asked coolly. She was satisfied somewhat when Naraku frowned at her.

"You pitiful fool," she laughed, the sound sharp against the silence. "You have lost the only thing that can make you a full youkai. Now you are nothing but a half blood."

"I would be careful if I were you, Kikyo," Naraku said, his voice tinted with anger.

"Follow your own advice," she replied, letting her purifying arrow fly and slice a hole in Naraku's stomach. Before he could recover himself, Kikyo sent more arrows soaring, melting every millimeter of Naraku until there was nothing left but a purified goop on the ground.

"Go to Hell," she said softly, dropping her bow and arrows in the dead wood, walking towards where Inuyasha lay.

"Inuyasha?" she asked tentatively. She didn't know what she was expecting. To see him get up and greet her, maybe?

She knelt down by his side, the Shikon shard she had given Naraku close by. She picked up the shard, burning her hand, but she refused to drop it. She held it in her hand until she purified it, but by the time she did, her hands were burned raw.

"Inuyasha?" she asked again, trying to shake him awake. She knew he was dead. She knew he couldn't have survived the gaping wound in his chest, but she still tried.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice cracking. She felt tears threaten to come, but her eyes remained dry. Her face contorted into one of sadness and hatred, and she bent down and hugged the unmoving hanyou.

"Why did you leave? Why did you leave again?" She felt her body shake with sobs, but her face remained dry. "Inuyasha? Why can I never be by your side? Not in life, nor in death. Not in heaven, nor in hell." She hugged him tightly, feeling his still warm blood stain her clothes.

"Inuyasha… I can't cry," she said, speaking softly into his ears. "I can't cry because I'm an unrest spirit. I can't cry because of the way I am now. I can't even cry for you…"

She looked at Inuyasha's face, brushing away stray strands of hair.

"Why do you always look so peaceful?" _Even when I sealed you fifty years ago? _She laid him gently on the ground, glancing over at the two human bodies a little ways off.

"Did your friends die trying to avenge you?" she mused, walking over to them. Her eyes turned sad when she saw the monk's outstretched hand seeming to reach for the youkai exterminator's. She walked to the dead wood, breaking off branches and gathering fallen wood. _It's the least I can do for you, Inuyasha…_

The full moon was up by the time she was finished building a funeral pyre and had laid the bodies on it. She retrieved the Shikon shard from earlier and placed it in Inuyasha's hands.

"To find my soul's incarnate, Inuyasha," she said softly, giving his hand one last squeeze. _No matter how much I deny it, I'm nothing but a shell of my former self. I lack my complete soul. In fact, in our last encounter, the girl had reclaimed all of her soul back. The only reason I'm still moving is because my emotion is still driving me. The emotion of hatred is the only reason I still exist._

She set the pyre on fire, watching the bodies burn. _But now, I don't think even the emotion of hatred can sustain me. I fell in love with you all over again, Inuyasha. You robbed me of my will for vengeance. And twice you rob me of my existence. But I am willing to let go of that which you rob me of. _

She saw the pyre collapse on itself. _Sayonara, Inuyasha. Sayonara._

She felt something wet fall off her face and drop onto the ground. In the dying embers of the funeral pyre, her eyes glistened, and finally she felt at peace. She collapsed on Inuyasha's ashes, her own ashes combining with the others. Nothing was left to mark their grave except a blood stained cloth in a sea of dimly glowing liquid.

The next morning, Kaede would find a small mound with four flowers intertwined into one among a field of the greenest grass she had ever seen in her life. And somehow, she would know her sister had finally found peace. Yet, she would still feel that the mission of Inuyasha and Kagome is still far from over…


	9. Realized Deaths

Complete the Circle Chapter Nine: Realized Deaths 

            Kagome awoke to the sounds of dinner cooking. She got up from her bed, rubbing her eyes, and surveying her surroundings. _Why am I at home? Shouldn't I be with Inuyasha, fighting Naraku? _She started to panic. _That's right, Naraku blasted me with that stupid orb, and Kirara…she saved me but… Why am I still at my house? Did I dream all of this?_

            She started downstairs, feeling more confused by the minute. Suddenly, she started to panic again, running all the way back into her room. _If I really was dreaming, then that means that I haven't gone to the Sengoku Jidai yet. Inuyasha is going to be so mad…_ She was ready to start dumping things in her pack when she saw that everything was already in there. _This doesn't make any sense, but oh well. _She shoved the pack onto her back, running downstairs, getting ready to leave.

            "Mama, I'm going right now!" she called out, running out of the door, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her pack and pulling her back in. She turned around and saw that it was Inuyasha.

            "Inuyasha!" she started, beginning to try and explain why she was late, only to be interrupted by him.

            "I'm not Inuyasha," Inuyasha said.

            "Huh?"

            She saw the dog demon shrink and transform into a kitsune child.

            "Shi-Shippou-chan?!" she asked, gasping. The little fox nodded. "What-what are you doing here? And why did you look like Inuyasha?"

            "Kagome," her mother said, coming closer to her, "I think you should listen to what the child has to say. Please come back inside, and we'll…we'll discuss this over dinner." She saw her mother smile pleasantly, but it seemed rather strained. _What's going on here?_

            "Mama…" She followed her mother inside, dropping the pack near the door. She saw her mother set the table for five instead of four, and was reminded that Shippou was there.

            "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" she asked, looking from her brother Souta's sad expression to her grandfather's frowning one. Her mother started putting rice into their bowls, telling them to start eating.

            "What's going on?" she asked impatiently. "Jii-chan? Souta? Mama? Shippou?"

            Shippou took his chopsticks and started to play with his rice. Souta started to eat quickly while her grandfather seemed to be contemplating the history of the pickle. She turned to her mother and saw a face identical to the one she saw when someone had told her mother that her father wasn't returning. _Why is everyone looking so funny? Has something… No, it can't be. But, what if… Inuyasha…?_

            "This," she started, but seemed to choke on nothing. "This doesn't have anything to do with Inuyasha." It was a question, but she didn't state it like one. Shippou started to look down at his knees. _Don't jump to conclusions. Don't jump to conclusions. Just listen to the facts. Don't keep expecting the worst._

            "Kagome, starting from tomorrow, you can go to school again," her mother said, trying to make her see the best of the situation. _What situation?_

            "Mama, what are you talking about?" she asked, feeling the sickening bile of panic rise in her.

            "You don't have to miss school anymore."

            "That's right, and Jii-chan won't have to make excuses for you anymore," Souta said, unable to keep the quiver out of his voice.

            "What? What about Inuyasha? If I don't go back into the well, that idiot's going to come and drag me back anyway," she said angrily. _Why am I even angry? Shouldn't I be glad for once that the idiot won't disrupt my schooling?_

            "Inuyasha…" her mother started, but did not continue.

            "Inuyasha won't ever be coming to take you back to our world," Shippou said quietly. _What? Shippou-chan, what are you talking about? What do you mean he won't be coming?_

            "You don't have to go back to our world ever again," Shippou said, sounding older than he was.

            "Yes, you don't have to go back to that rude demon anymore," her grandfather said.

            "What are you saying?" she shouted, her temper and panic getting the best of her. "Has something happened to Inuyasha?" She started to run out of the house. _What's happened? Inuyasha, please be okay…_

            She ignored the large pack by the door and slipped into her shoes, running to the well house.

            "Kagome, wait!" she heard Shippou shout. She ran faster, opening the door to the well house with such force that the entire building shook. _Inuyasha, don't be dead._ She jumped into the well, expecting the familiar feeling of floating before she landed. But this time, nothing happened. _Don't tell me the well is broken. Please don't break at a time like this._

            This is just like that time when Inuyasha was injured by Seshoumaru. I couldn't get to Inuyasha then, and I can't get to Inuyasha now.

            "Kagome!" she heard Shippou shout before she jumped into the well again. _It has to work. It has to work!_ Still, nothing happened.

            "Shippou-chan, the well isn't working!" she said, fear apparent in her voice. "Shippou-chan, what's going on?"

            "Kagome, I-I sealed the well," the little boy said, shaking with fear or sadness, she couldn't tell.

            "What?!" she screamed, climbing out of the well quickly. "What did you **do**?"

            "I-I'm sorry, Kagome," Shippou said, starting to cry. "I had to. Inuyasha told me to. I'm sorry."

            "Shippou-chan," Kagome started, softening at the little boy's sobs. "It's okay," she said, hugging him. "I'm not mad. It's all right." By the time Shippou stopped crying, the rest of her family were already outside and by her side.

            "Now will someone please explain to me what's going on?" she asked tiredly, still holding Shippou tightly.

            "Kagome…you're friends…they're gone," her mother said, bending down next to her.

            "What," she swallowed, then tried again, "what do you mean by that?" she asked in a soft whisper. She dreaded the answer.

            "They're dead, Kagome," Shippou said, his voice sounding dead. "Inuyasha's dead. They're all dead. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango…they're all dead. Just…just like my parents."

            "That… That can't be true," she said, lowering her head. _But I know it's true, don't I? All the way to Naraku's castle, I saw Inuyasha looking funny. Did you already know you were going to die? Then why did you go and fight Naraku? Inuyasha, you **idiot**!_

            She raised her hand to wipe her face, surprised to know that she had been crying.

            "Come on, let's go inside," her mother said gently, helping her up and leading the way. Once inside, she said to her, "I'll go prepare a bath for you, okay?" Kagome nodded half-heartedly. Her mother smiled encouragingly and went upstairs.

            "Shippou-chan, how…?" She wasn't ready to know how Inuyasha and the others had died. "How did you seal the well?"

            "You know the little statue I used to pin Inuyasha's hands to the ground the first time we met?" Shippou asked. She nodded. "Well, I made it really big, and then I put the sticker on it so that no one could remove it inside the well."

            "That was…very smart of you, Shippou-chan," she said, trying to smile.

            "I think the well will be open again, though," Shippou said, shifting around nervously. Kagome looked sharply at him.

            "Umm… Promise you won't go back?" Shippou asked. She saw the hollowness in Shippou's eyes when she asked, her determination melting away. _Shippou is more affected by this than I am. He's lost so many more people than I have…_

            "I promise, Shippou-chan," she said, feeling her sudden burst of energy drain away.

            "Well," Shippou showed her his outstretched hand. A shard of the Shikon no Tama was still embedded in his hand. "If I take the Shikon shard out, I think my magic on the statue will wear off, and it'll return to its normal size, so anyone who can, will be able to go through the well again." He looked anxiously at Kagome, as if expecting her to chide him for something.

            _Wha-? Oh, that's right, the Shikon shard. I suppose I have to thank Shippou for carrying me all the way back to my world from Naraku's castle._

            "Shippou-chan," she started, her voice strong and firm. She saw Shippou cringe from what he thought was going to be her lecturing to him. "Keep the shard for now." Shippou looked up in confusion. "If you're going to be staying with my family, then you'll have to go to school. Understand?" Shippou nodded quickly. "You'll need the Shikon shard to maintain a human appearance, so I'll let you borrow it until you have enough power to transform longer." She gave Shippou a shadow of her original smile. "I think Souta might be able to teach you some of the basics you need to know. Souta!"

            Her brother was by her side in a moment, glad to have something to do.

            "Can you teach Shippou everything he needs to know about this world and school?" Her brother nodded his head enthusiastically.

            "Of course, nee-chan," he said, dragging Shippou off into the kitchen. "First, I'll show him the kitchen," he said, his voice slightly muffled by the wall.

            "Kagome," her mother said, coming down the stairs. "Your bath is ready. I want you to get a good night's sleep after your bath, okay?" She smiled her agreement at her mother and willed herself up the stairs into the bathroom. _I can't cry. If I do, I might worry Mama and Souta and Shippou. I… I have to look strong. I have to **be **strong._ But despite her words, she could feel warm tears sliding down her cheeks.


	10. Welcome, Shippou. Hi, Sango

**Complete the Circle**

Chapter Ten: Welcome, Shippou. Hi, Sango. 

            She stood there, looking down into the well. It seemed more dark and foreign without Inuyasha waiting on the other side. She contemplated breaking her promise to Shippou and jumping into the well anyways, but decided against it. If she disappeared now, Shippou would most likely get worried, and he would probably never forgive himself for letting her out of his sight and failing Inuyasha.__

_            Inuyasha… Where are you now? Do you… Do you miss me? I-I'm sorry. I wasn't there for you. I wasn't there for you when you-when you… _She couldn't bring herself to say the words, even in her mind. She saw a sparkling sphere drop down into the well and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. But still, they continued to fall, each tiny sphere falling into the darkness of the well. Maybe she hoped that her tears would somehow reach Inuyasha, or maybe she longed to see him, dead or alive, but she stood there until the morning waned and the noon sun rose high above the God tree.

            "Kagome." She was startled by the voice of her mother, and quickly wiped her tears away.

            "Yes?" she asked, trying to act as cheerful as she could.

            "Kagome, you don't have to pretend around me," her mother said, walking over and hugging her daughter. Kagome willed herself not to succumb to her mother's bait.

            "Did you want something, Mama?" she asked as her mother pulled away. "It's Sunday, so the shops might close early. Did you want me to get something for you?"

            "Kagome…" her mother said, for a moment looking heartbroken, but Kagome could have imagined it, for a moment later, her mother was smiling again. "It's about Shippou. What are we going to do about him?"

            "Mama, we can't turn him out!" she said quickly, her panic making her lose her reason. Her mother laughed softly.

            "I wouldn't think of turning him out when he has no place to go," she said, smiling at her daughter. "I was thinking that perhaps we should adopt him."

            "Oh," Kagome replied, feeling embarrassed.

            "What do you think, Kagome? Are you up to the challenge of having another brother in the family?" her mother laughed. Kagome grinned.

            "Hai!"

            "I'll get the paperwork and such done for him. What you need to do is teach him about this world and school," her mother said, starting to walk away. "Oh, and make sure he knows how to read and write. I don't know if anyone taught him yet, but you had better make sure he knows how to by heart. Oh!" her mother said, seeming to think of something on the spot, "Make sure you get clothes for him. I don't know what form he's capable of, but you had better make sure you've got clothes for him."

            "Yes, Mama," Kagome replied, starting for the house as her mother descended the steps of the shrine. 

"And make sure he gets a full meal. I don't think he ate a lot yesterday. You too, Kagome."

            "Yes, Mama," she said, slightly exasperated. She watched her mother disappear down the steps before going into the house. She heard the sounds of someone playing video games and headed towards it.

            "Souta! What are you doing?" she asked, "I thought I told you to teach Shippou the modern things we have around here."

            "I am, nee-chan," Souta said, trying to see over Kagome, who was blocking the television set. "I'm teaching him what a video game is. You can't go to school if you don't know the latest games!"

            "What?!" Kagome answered, unbelieving of Souta. "You don't need to know video games just to go to school."

            "Just because you are a hermit, doesn't mean Shippou has to be one, too," Souta said.

            "I am not a hermit!" Kagome shouted. "Who says I'm a hermit?"

            "You don't even know the latest movie that's out," Souta said, pausing the game for he couldn't get Kagome to move.

            "That's because I was in the Sengoku Jidai!" Kagome said, reminded of Inuyasha. She didn't have time to get sad, for it was Shippou's turn to comment on Kagome's knowledge of the modern world.

            "I bet you don't even know the name of the man who made 'The Legend of Zelda,'" Shippou said, giving her a self-important look.

            "Huh?"

            "See, we're right about you, hermit!" Souta said, running out of the room and from Kagome's impending wrath. "Shippou, run for it!" Souta shouted at the Kitsune, already far away from his sister. Shippou ran after Souta, laughing.

            "Shippou! Come back here!" Kagome said, unable to prevent a smile from spreading over her face. "Shippou-chan!" She started to run after the two boys, her small smile growing larger. _I won't forget you, Inuyasha, but I can't remain sad forever. You know, I wonder… Did you simply send Shippou just to make sure I'm safe, or was there another reason? Well, it doesn't matter. Having at least one of my friends from the Sengoku Jidai here makes me happy. Your deaths don't hurt so much anymore…_

            She caught the kitsune trying to transform himself into a trashcan, but failing for he forgot about the lid on top.

            "Gotcha!" Kagome grabbed Shippou, forcing him to transform back to his original form. "Where's Souta?"

            Shippou only grinned before turning into a leaf. _What? A leaf? Then that means…_

            "Shippou! Souta! Stop hiding right now!" Kagome said, her temper starting to get to her. _What did they really transform themselves into? I shouldn't have given Shippou that Shikon fragment yet…_

            She saw a leaf scooting away from her. _That's suspicious. _The leaf stopped moving. _Hmm…_ Kagome moved away from the leaf, seeming to search in the opposite direction.

            "I wonder where they could be?" she asked in an overly loud voice. The leaf mysteriously giggled. It started to inch away from her like a worm. She couldn't stop herself from grinning as she picked up the leaf by its stem.

            "Hey! This leaf looks like a tea leaf. I think I'll boil it in water—"

            "Ack! Noooo! Don't boil me! Shippou! Shippou!"

            She heard a muffled voice from under her right foot. She quickly lifted her foot away and Shippou transformed back to himself, rubbing his back.

            "Ow…" he whined. Kagome looked worriedly at him.

            "Well you wouldn't have been hurt if you hadn't been doing that," Kagome said in a motherly voice. "Come on, let's go inside."

            Once inside the kitchen, Shippou transformed Souta back while Kagome made them something to eat.

            "So, Shippou-chan, did Souta teach you how everything works in this room?" she asked, handing them each a mug of hot chocolate.

            "Yes! That box thingy over there is a 'microwave' and that big cold box over there is a 're'-'refri'-'rehi?' 'Rehigarator?" he asked.

            "Refrigerator," Souta corrected, opening a box of cookies and starting to chomp on them.

            "Well, other than that, I know the name of everything else in the kitchen," Shippou said cheerfully, taking the cookie Souta handed to him and chewing it carefully before stuffing the entire thing in his mouth. "That's good!"

            "Don't pig out before lunch," Kagome said, starting towards her room. "You're the eldest, Souta, so you're responsible for Shippou, understand?" She saw her brother nod at her absentmindedly before reaching for a cookie quickly, as if afraid that Shippou would eat it all. She smiled fondly at them and headed to her room to do her forgotten homework.__

_            I guess running away to the Sengoku Jidai if I fail the High School Exam is out of the question now. _She sat down before her desk, taking the chain with the Shikon shard off from her neck. _Guess I won't have to look at this for a long time._ She placed the Shikon fragment inside a drawer and locked it. She felt like she was locking an important part of herself in the drawer, but she ignored the feeling. _Can't dwell on Inuyasha and the Sengoku Jidai forever. Right. So, to work!_ She promptly began doing all the homework that she had missed.

            Despite all that Kagome and Souta tried to teach him, Shippou still had a lot to learn, so Kagome's mother decided to place him in kindergarten because he really didn't know more than any other kindergartener, and also because he looked like one when he was in his untransformed state. No matter how much Shippou denied being a small child, Mrs. Higurashi refused to believe him, and was firm in her decision. It allowed Shippou to know where Kagome's stubbornness sometimes came from.

            A week after he arrived, Mrs. Higurashi determined Shippou ready to start school.

            "Now remember, Shippou," she said very motherly, "just stick close to Souta and he'll teach you how everything goes. Okay?"

            "Okay, umm… Okaa-san," Shippou said uncomfortably. Mrs. Higurashi just smiled.

            "You can call me 'Mama' like Kagome and Souta, or, if it makes you more comfortable, call me 'Okaa-chan.' 'Okaa-san' sounds a little bit too formal for a child your age to be saying, doesn't it?" she asked, smiling at Shippou. Shippou agreed nervously. "So then, off to your first day in school. Souta, remember to help Shippou."

            "I know, Mama," Souta said impatiently. "Come on, Shippou. If we don't start right now, we're going to be late."

            "Bye, Mama," Kagome said, walking after Shippou and Souta. _So, Shippou's first day in school. I hope he doesn't mess up any of his facts. But then, he's in kindergarten, so I doubt the teachers will give him too much grief if he says something wrong. What I'm most worried about is his transformation._ She looked at the brown haired boy walking before her, conversing with Souta. _He looks normal right now, but I wonder how long can he hold it? I wish I had tested Shippou more before letting him go…_

            She crossed the crosswalk, looking at the glowing light that signaled for the pedestrians to start crossing the street. _The light from the signal reminds me of Inuyasha's hair on a night of the full moon, glowing, silver, and—Why am I thinking about him?! That's it Kagome, lock all these thoughts away. You've been doing this for a week, so this day should be no different. _But she felt the floodgates within her start to break, and promptly began looking at the sky. _The sky is harmless. It won't remind me of anything… Hmm… The sky in the Sengoku Jidai looks higher and—**Why do I keep thinking about that?!** _She tried to turn her thoughts away from that time period and the memory of friends lost there.__

_            Oh look! That cloud looks like an ice cream cone!_ Kagome thought, glad to be free from thinking about more unpleasant and serious things. _And that cloud looks like a pillow. Oh! And that cloud looks like Inuyasha—No! Stop it!_

            "Ow!"

            "Ite…" groaned Kagome as she got up from the ground. She saw that in her lack of attention, she had knocked someone down. "Ah! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going…"

            "It's alright," the girl said, getting up. She had long black hair and looked incredibly similar to…

            "Sango!" Shippou cried, frozen in his tracks. His eyes were bulging with surprise.

            "Huh? Do I know you?" the girl asked, looking at Shippou with confusion.

            "Sango! It's m—" Shippou was cut off by Kagome's hand over his mouth.

            "Oh, I'm sure he's mistaken you for someone else," Kagome laughed nervously, trying to get Shippou to stop squirming in her arms.

            "Oh? Are you sure? I mean, if he knows my name, then I'm sure we must have met somewhere before," the girl said, frowning.

            "Your name is Sango?" Kagome asked, dropping Shippou in her surprise.

            "Yes. Yamata Sango. I just moved here recently, so that kid might have met me somewhere else," she said, looking curiously at Shippou. Shippou began to feel uncomfortable under her gaze. She looked like she was trying to remember something that was just out of her grasp.

            "Well, I'm Kagome. Higurashi Kagome," introduced Kagome. "And this is Shippou and Souta. We're pleased to have met you."

            "I don't think I've seen any of you before," Sango finally said, shifting the books in her arms.

            "Oh! That's probably because you haven't," Kagome laughed nervously again, "Shippou likes to guess people's names, and I guess he guessed right this time."

            "Oh. Well, I better start towards school or I'm going to be late," Sango said, starting to walk off.

            "I'll walk you there. I'm guessing we go to the same school," Kagome said smiling, and waving goodbye to Souta and Shippou as they split up to go to their own schools. She looked at the person walking next to her and wondered if she was really the Sango that she knew, or was she someone else entirely. _She looks exactly like Sango! It makes me wonder if Miroku and Inuyasha are in this time period too…_

            Kagome was jarred from her thoughts with the ringing of the first bell.

**Author's Note:** Err… I don't know what Sango's last name is, and her entire family was killed off anyway, so I made up a last name for her. Fine, I didn't exactly make it up. I asked my grandma, who knows a little Japanese, to provide me with some last names, and one of them was "Yamata." I think it means mountain field or something, but I could be wrong…


	11. The Boy in the Hospital

Complete the Circle Chapter Eleven: The Boy in the Hospital 

            Kagome walked into the classroom and saw her friends conversing near the window. She led Sango to her friends. Kagome had been surprised when Sango had said that she was in the same class as her. _I hope I can become friends with this girl, even if she isn't the Sango that I know._

            "…yeah, and I heard that Musashino might be coming back to school soon," one of her friends said.

            "Oh really? Do you know when?" another said.

            "Let's try to get Kagome with him. After all, I don't think Hojo-kun is really that interesting to be with."

            "Yeah, and maybe he'll be able to make her forget about that other—oof!" her friend gasped as someone elbowed her in the stomach to warn her that Kagome was here.

            "What are you three planning again?" Kagome asked, slightly red with irritation and embarrassment at her friends' conversation.

            "Oh, nothing really," her friend with the hair band said, "Hey! Who's this?"

            "I'm Yamata Sango. I think I'm your new classmate," Sango said, bowing slightly.

            "Don't be so formal!" Kagome's friend said, but she was interrupted when the teacher walked through the door and started class.

            Shippou was amazed by the school and its playground, and the teachers were also so nice. _So this is what Kagome's world is like._ When the students were out for break, Souta taught him how to use the different things on the playground. He taught Shippou how to play on the monkey bars, the jungle gym, the swings, and the slide. It was the slide that caused the problem.

            Souta and Shippou had been up at the slide, with Souta explaining to him how it worked, when a kid climbed up the steps to the slide and shoved Souta down the slide because he was in her way. Souta had slid down the slide diagonally, and landed on his arm. He didn't move from the spot in which he landed, so the girl just slid down the slide and landed on top of him. Shippou had quickly run down the steps and asked him what was wrong when he saw Souta's arm angled funny. Shippou hadn't been in the Sengoku Jidai for nothing, and he knew a broken arm when he saw one, especially since a certain dog demon broke his arm sometimes.

            So a good first day at school ended with a lousy afternoon in the hospital. Shippou had stayed as close to Souta as he could in the hospital, along with Mrs. Higurashi. Even though Souta kept on insisting he was all right, Mrs. Higurashi still had a worried expression on her face. Finally she had gone home to tell Kagome what had happened after the girl returned from school, and told Shippou to wait at the hospital next to Souta.

            "Shippou, you can go home," Souta said to the child next to him, who shook his head violently, refusing to leave his friend's side.

            "I'm going to stay here and make sure that that evil girl doesn't come here," he said, his voice shaking slightly. _I- I won't let anyone harm my friends as long as I'm alive! I won't stand by the sidelines and watch anymore. I don't want to lose any more people…_

            Suddenly Kagome burst into the room, her worry clear on her face and she started bombarding Souta with questions. Shippou tried to make himself scarce in his chair, wishing he could disappear. _What if Kagome blames me for Souta's injury? What if she gets mad at me for being unable to protect him like Inuyasha protected her? What if she gets mad at me for being unable to protect anyone?_

            Kagome turned to Shippou and noticed that he looked afraid. But afraid of who? She was surprised to discover that Shippou seemed to be afraid of her. But why? _Does Shippou think I'm going to blame him for my brother's injury? Oh, Shippou-chan… I never should have let you follow me in the first place. Then you wouldn't have seen what you saw. Shippou-chan…it's not your fault. None of it was your fault._

She picked Shippou up and started inspecting him, surprising Shippou. When she seemed satisfied, she put him down again.

            "Nee-chan, what were you doing?" Souta asked, surprised with his sister's behavior.

            "I was checking to make sure Shippou wasn't hurt by that girl, either," Kagome said, smiling. Then her face turned angry. "That stupid girl. What did she think she was doing? She should know better than to mess with the Higurashi family. Shippou-chan," she said, turning to the child and hoping that she could somehow get him to realize that all that had happened was not his fault, "If you see her again, try to play a trick on her. Scare her or something with your magic, got it?"

            Shippou was confused my Kagome's behavior, but nodded. _She isn't mad with me?_

            "Hey, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, settling herself into a seat. "Can you please get me a drink from the vendor while I talk to Souta? Thanks," she said as she dropped some coins into Shippou's hand.

            "But Kagome," Shippou said, looking at the coins in confusion, "I don't know how to count money."

            "Oh it's okay, Shippou-chan," Kagome said, grinning, "all you have to do is put the coins in a hole. I gave you the exact change for a drink, so all you do is put them in, push a button for a drink, then wait as the drink comes out. It's okay if you get it wrong," she said, trying not to scare Shippou with this small responsibility. _Don't want him to be scared of putting a couple coins in a vending machine. The Shippou I knew from before wasn't like this. I hope he can get past this and return to his old self soon…_ "I'll teach you if you get it wrong. Don't worry, Shippou-chan. It's not like you to be all nervous all the time," she said, rubbing the child's hair. "Now go. Take as long as you want."

            Shippou reluctantly walked out of the room, heading down the hall to where he had seen a vending machine earlier. Souta had shown him what a vending machine was earlier that day, when they were walking to school. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a familiar voice coming out from one of the rooms. He peeked into the room to make sure that the voice he heard was indeed from **that** person.

            "I'm fine, I'm fine," a boy around Kagome's age said. The boy took up a comb and started to comb his raven black hair absentmindedly as he packed up some of his belongings with his other hand. Shippou saw the boy stuff magazines, games, and get-well cards all into a bag.

            "Are you sure?" the mother's worried voice rang out as she cleared away the trash on the table. "You had better not be lying to me!" she threatened.

            "Okaa-chan!" the boy said exasperatedly, turning around. Shippou saw the boy's face, looking slightly annoyed at the moment. _Inu—Inuyasha! _Shippou was about to run and hug his friend, but was stopped by the mother's voice and the memory of the Sango look-alike who didn't remember anything at all.

            "Musashino! Don't you take that tone with me," she said, her voice stern. "Just because you've been the hospital the last few months doesn't mean I'm going to start going easy on you. In fact, I'll be harsher on you than ever! How dare you make your mother so worried?" she said, starting to cry. The boy called Musashino rolled his eyes, and walked over to his mother, hugging her and mumbling half-hearted apologies.

            Shippou slipped away from the door and ran back to Kagome. _I have to tell Kagome about this! First Sango, then Inuyasha! Maybe everyone is in Kagome's world. At least, I hope…_

            He entered the room and started to drag Kagome out of the chair.

            "Shippou-chan, what are you doing?" Kagome asked, surprised the see the old glitter back in Shippou's eyes.

            "Kagome, come on! I want you to see something. Hurry," Shippou said, running out of the room.

            "I'll be back, okay, Souta?" she said to her brother, then left to follow Shippou. _I wonder what's got Shippou so excited. Whatever it is, I'm thankful. I was beginning to think that I would never see the Shippou I knew when Inuyasha was still here ever again._ She followed Shippou into an empty hospital room.

            "Oh no! They're gone!" Shippou cried, looking frantically in the room, then running to the hallway, searching for someone.

            "Shippou-chan, who are you talking about?" Kagome asked, looking down the hallway and seeing no one.

            Shippou seemed angry and confused with himself. _I can't tell Kagome that I saw someone who looks like Inuyasha. Inuyasha told me to protect Kagome, and if I tell her, she might want to chase him down, and what if the person I saw that looked like Inuyasha was actually Naraku? What if that was Naraku in disguise, trying to kill Kagome? No, I can't tell her. I can't tell her anything. I don't want to let the Inuyasha I **know** is real down._

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome said a bit louder when the child didn't reply her. He just faced her and gave her a strange smile.

            "Ha ha, tricked you," Shippou said, laughing weakly. Then he headed towards Souta's room again.__

_            Shippou-chan…has returned to being that false cheerful boy again. I wonder…what did you see to bring your old self out for that brief moment?_ Kagome looked sadly at the retreating boy's back, worried for Shippou. _I don't know what to do. If anyone was acting weird or depressed back then, Inuyasha would usually say something insulting to them to get them angry, or try to make them hate him to get their minds off whatever was bothering them. But Inuyasha isn't here right now, and I don't know how to do what you do, Inuyasha. Inuyasha…what do I do? What do I do to get Shippou back again?_

            She felt her eyes water with tears, but quickly wiped it away. She was determined not to let Shippou feel her sadness; he already had enough to bear.


	12. Sango: Pest Exterminator

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twelve: Sango: Pest Exterminator**

            "Good morning, Sango-chan!" Kagome said, waving to Sango as she crossed the crosswalk. "Want to walk to school with me?"

            "Um, sure," Sango replied, waiting for Kagome to catch up to her.

            "So, how do you like the school?" Kagome said, trying to make a conversation.

            "It's fine, I suppose," Sango replied, "It's like all other schools."

            "Oh," Kagome said, for lack of a better response._ The old Sango was shy, so I wonder if this Sango is shy, too. That might make it a bit difficult to get close to her._

            They walked into their classroom, walking to their desks and starting to empty their backpacks of the textbooks in them. Sango sat a little bit behind Kagome, so Kagome would have no chance to contact her during class.

            "Hey, Kagome!" Kagome's friend said, "Did you hear? I heard that the history teacher is going to leave us soon because of health problems, or something. I wonder who our new teacher is going to be, but most importantly, I want to know when the history teacher is leaving. I don't think I can stand another one of his lectures anymore!"

            "Good morning, Kagome," her other two friends said. "Good morning, Sango."

            "Good morning," Sango replied, smiling a bit. Kagome moved slightly aside to make room for Sango to join their little circle.

            "Sango, are you walking with Kagome to school now?" one of Kagome's friends asked. "I think that's nice of you. Because Kagome lives at the shrine, she doesn't have many people who walk with her to school because the shrine is a little too far away from school and none of our classmates live near the shrine."

            "No, that's not true," another girl interjected, "what about that one guy?"

            "Oh yeah, I forgot about him…"

            "Who?" asked Sango and Kagome at the same time. They turned to each other and started to giggle.

            "All right, students, please get into your seats. Class is about to start," the teacher said, writing something on the board. Kagome groaned when she saw the math problems on the board, but didn't say anything out loud.

            "Oh no, there's going to be a combined chapter test two weeks from now," Kagome groaned to herself on the way home. "I better start studying tonight or I'll never pass the test."

            She entered what she thought was going to be a quiet, peaceful home with perfect conditions for studying, but instead she found Souta and Shippou running around chasing something, along with Buyo and Kirara, while in the background, the wonderful music of the vacuum cleaner was humming incessantly.

            "What's going on here?" Kagome shouted amidst the chaos.

            "One of the boxes in the storage room has rats in it, and Jii-chan accidentally let them out in the house," Souta said, panting for air. Kagome heard Shippou use his fox fire in the other room.

            "Shippou-chan, don't use your fire in the house," Kagome shouted, heading towards Shippou. She saw something slip past her feet and screamed.

            "Kagome, it's just a rat," Shippou said, chasing after it with Kirara. "And my kitsune-bi doesn't hurt anything except the rats."

            "Is Kagome home?" she heard her mother ask through all the noise.

            "Mama, she's right here," Souta said, pointing at Kagome. Finally the noise from the vacuum cleaner halted and Mrs. Higurashi walked to where her daughter was.

            "Kagome, would you mind running to a nearby store and buying a newspaper?" her mother asked, her eyes seeming to search the floor for something.

            "A newspaper? Why?" Kagome asked, trying to find whatever it was her mother was looking for.

            "Oh, I just need to look at the advertisements in the newspaper. I need to find a good exterminator," Mrs. Higurashi suddenly whipped a can of bug spray out from her pocket and began spraying a corner of the wall rather enthusiastically. "Actually, any pest exterminator will do. We've been having a real problem with insects lately. And since it was so cold outside yesterday, a lot of insects have come into the house."

            "And it doesn't help with Jii-chan chasing the cockroaches out of the shrine and into our home," Souta said, handing his mother another can of bug spray. Kagome heard Shippou use his fox fire from another area of the house.

            "All right, I'll go and get a newspaper," Kagome said, wearing her shoes again. "Kyaa!" she screamed as she quickly took her feet out of her shoe. She saw a brownish black insect crawl out of her shoe. Mrs. Higurashi immediately pounced on it and sprayed the cockroach till it could no longer move.

            "So, can you please go get the newspaper now?" her mother said, spraying a row of ants. Kagome quickly slipped on her shoes after making sure nothing was living in them, and walked out of the house. She heard someone turn the vacuum cleaner on again. _I bet they're probably trying to suck the ants up._

            She returned a few minutes later with a newspaper, only to find her house covered in smoke. _Oh no! The house is on fire. I told Shippou not to use his fox fire indoors!_ She ran into the house and expected to see the furniture on fire, but instead, she found her grandfather burning a very large stick of incense mumbling some sort of spell under his breath. The spell sounded something like "insectsbegoneinsectsbegone."

            "Jii-chan!" Kagome coughed, trying to fan away the smoke with her hand.

            "Don't disturb Jii-chan," Souta said, "He's trying to perform an extermination spell." 

            "Kagome, did you get the newspaper?" asked her mother. Her voice came from the kitchen.

            "Hai, Mama," Kagome said, walking to the kitchen and trying to hold her breath.

            "Kitsune-bi!" Kagome screamed as Shippou's fox fire passed through her legs and got the rat that had just run past her.

            "Oh good," her mother said, opening the newspaper and looking through it quickly. "There we go. I'll call them up right now, because this is a bit of an emergency," her mother said, dialing the number.

            "But Mama, where are we going to stay while they…never mind," Kagome mumbled as she saw her mother was clearly not listening to her. She saw her mother speak into the phone, look puzzled, then laughed and took the earplugs out of her ears.

            Kagome walked outside with her backpack towards the giant God tree. She plunked down next to the tree, taking out her homework and trying to get some homework done before the sun set. She leaned against the tree, breathing in its scent. _It smells like…_

            She didn't have time to finish her thoughts for the exterminators soon arrived. She saw her mother walk out of the house to greet them. She turned back to do her homework when she heard a voice call her name.

            "Kagome-chan!" She looked up and saw Sango wearing a black uniform, waving at her.

            "Sango-chan?" she asked, getting up from her position and starting to walk towards her. "What are you doing here?"

            "Don't be silly," smiled Sango, "I'm helping my parents exterminate the pests in your house."

            "You help your parents with their job?" Kagome asked incredulously.

            "Think of it as an apprenticeship," Sango said, getting her equipment ready. "Your mother said this was an emergency, which is why I'm here. I usually don't do exterminations on weekdays, but if it's an emergency, then I come and help."

            "Onee-chan, where do I put this?" asked a boy younger than Sango, but older than Souta.

            "Just put it in the second pouch from the left, Kohaku," Sango said, readjusting the belt around her waist. "I'm going to get the pests in your house, okay? I think my parents have already started and they'll get mad if Kohaku and I don't help them." Sango and Kohaku were already in her house when Kagome realized that Sango's brother was also named Kohaku. _This is getting really weird. What a coincidence that the girl who looks like Sango is named Sango, and her brother, which looks like Kohaku, is named Kohaku. Is this someone's idea of a joke? All I need now is a perverted monk and a guy with dog ears named Inuyasha._

            Kagome sighed and went back to doing her homework. Shippou soon walked up to her, seeming to look for something.

            "Kagome, have you seen Kirara?" he asked, looking up the God tree.

            "No, I thought she was with you," Kagome said, trying to memorize a math formula.

            "No, the last place I saw her was in the house- Oh no!" Shippou cried, running towards the house. "Kirara is still in the house." It took a moment for the information to sink in, but when it did, Kagome ran as fast as she could towards the house. _Please don't let them see Kirara! Please be hiding, Kirara._

            But luck was not on their side for Sango exited out of their house, holding the cat and looking extremely pale, even under her gas mask. _Oh, no. How am I going to explain a two-tailed cat?_

            "Ka-Kagome-chan, wha-what is this?" Sango said, taking off her mask, her voice shaking, but her hand remaining firm on Kirara. "Is it some sort of mutated cat, or something?"

            "Ah…no," Kagome replied, trying to get Kirara away from Sango, but Sango backed off away from her.

            "Kagome…don't try to lie to me," Sango said, looking at Shippou, who had forgotten to transform his tail away in all the pandemonium. "That child…he isn't normal. Look at his tail, Kagome! And this cat… Kagome, why are—what are… Are you some sort of mutated human too?"

            Kagome blinked. Then she started to laugh at Sango's expression.

            "I'm not a mutated human! None of us are," she said, still laughing.

            "Then what…?" Sango asked, confused with the strange things she saw before her.

            "The one you're holding is a cat youkai," Kagome said, finally taking Kirara from Sango. She noticed that Sango looked a bit disappointed when she did. _Does Sango remember her friend, Kirara?_

            "I'm Shippou, a kitsune," Shippou said, grinning and showing his small fangs.

            "Kagome…they're youkai!" Sango said, gasping as she grasped the concept. Kagome started to worry. What if Sango told others about Kirara and Shippou?

            "Sango, don't tell anyone, please," Kagome pleaded, hoping that Sango wasn't the type to gossip idly.

            "Of course I won't tell anyone!" Sango said, suddenly smiling, "I always knew that things like youkai existed, and now I have proof that they do! I know what would happen if anyone found out they existed. They would probably send some miko to slay them or something." Kagome thought that her situation couldn't be more ironic.

            "So you promise not to tell?" Kagome asked, awaiting confirmation.

            "I won't even tell my family," Sango promised. Her parents, along with Kohaku exited the house, heading towards the steps after handing Mrs. Higurashi their invoice.

            "Sango, we're going, so hurry up!" her father shouted. 

            "I'll be there soon!" she shouted back.

            "That was fast," commented Kagome.

            "Well, my family has been doing this for generations, so we have some tricks up our sleeves that not even the most modern and advanced pesticides can compare with." She turned to Kagome, her face seeming to glow with the radiant smile she had on. "I don't know why, Kagome-chan, but after finding out your secret, I feel like a part of me has been opened. Like when I saw Kirara, I felt like a part of me that has been sleeping my entire life suddenly awoke. So… I'm glad to know, and you should know that your secret is safe with me." Sango smiled then started towards her parents.

            "I know," Kagome said, watching the family drive away. It was after the car passed out of sight did Kagome realize she never told Sango Kirara's name.


	13. It's Miroku

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirteen: It's Miroku**

            There was still some time before class started so Sango was trying to help Kagome memorize some of the math formulas.

            "Yes, so 'A' squared is equal to 'B' squared plus 'C' squared minus two times 'B' times 'C' times cosine 'A'. It's just a formula," Sango said, "and it's one of the easier ones. It's sort of similar to the Pythagorean Theorem, except not."

            "It may be easy for you to say," Kagome said, laying her head on her desk in despair, "but I still can't remember it. It just goes in one ear and out the other."

            "Kagome-chan…" Sango said, sighing at her friend's inability with math. Suddenly, she froze in her position, her face turning red.

            "Oh, so sorry," someone said, removing their hand from Sango's bottom. "I tripped and fell. I'm terribly sorry."

            Kagome looked up at the familiar voice and confirmed her suspicions.

            "Miroku," Kagome said under her breath, "I should have known it was you."

            "Oh?" the person said, straightening up, "Do you still remember me from elementary school?"

            "Eh?" Kagome asked, confused, "Elementary school?"

            "Yes. Don't you remember we were in the same class in kindergarten?" Miroku asked. "I was the one who was always helping the teacher pass out the crayons."

            "Oh! I remember," Kagome said as realization dawned on her, "You were that little boy who was always pretending to fight youkai with that quiet friend of yours… What was his name?"

            "Oh, you must be talking about Inu—" Miroku started, but was interrupted by the teacher.__

_            I can't believe I didn't remember Miroku from elementary school. I should have seen the similarities between that kindergartener Miroku and the Miroku from the Sengoku Jidai. I'm so stupid! _She watched as the teacher introduced Miroku as a new student and placed Miroku near the back of the room, next to another empty seat._ And was Miroku about to say "Inuyasha?" But that's impossible! I don't remember anyone in our class called "Inuyasha." I don't even remember anyone in our class who had a name that **started** with "Inu."_

            Kagome listened half-heartedly to the teachers' lectures the rest of the morning for her mind was preoccupied with hounding Miroku with questions. _If Miroku was really going to say "Inuyasha," then that would mean that Inuyasha is here, too! But what would I do if Inuyasha really was here? I can't just run up to him and say "hi." He would probably think I'm a weirdo or something. Ugh! This is so weird! First Sango shows up, then Miroku, and then there's the possibility that Inuyasha is here, too. And then Sango arrives a week after she…um, well, yeah, and then Miroku arrives a week after Sango arrives. Does…does that mean I will see Inuyasha a week from today? But back to business. Why are they all of a sudden converging here? Okay, Miroku used to live here, that's why he was in my kindergarten class. Sango…hmm, I wonder why she moved here. Better ask her. For that matter, why did Miroku suddenly decide to move back? Okay, okay, too many questions. I should be paying attention to the teacher, especially since that stupid test is coming up._

            She watched the teacher put up more formulas and inwardly groaned. _My math stinks! How am I even supposed to pass a combined test? It was already hard enough to study for one test at a time, and now the teacher decides to combine it? _She scowled behind her book. _Wherever Inuyasha is, I hope he's worse than me at math. It's all his fault for dragging me back to the Sengoku Jidai and making me miss so many of my classes. If it weren't for Souta and my friends, I'd be failing. _Her face softened._ But I would rather fail math and see Inuyasha greet me at the well than stay here and pass the test without his presence._

_            Argh! Pull yourself together! No time to get all weepy, especially in the middle of class. And what about the test! I'm not even listening to the teacher anymore! _She looked up at the board again and saw Sango trying to solve a problem. She seemed to be having a difficult time. _Oh no! And Sango was the one who was supposed to help me study! If she doesn't get it, how am **I** supposed to understand it?_ She looked at her three friends, hoping to see one of them with a face of understanding, or at least boredom because they understood it too well, but all of them looked like they were about to have a headache. She stole a peek at Miroku, and was irritated to see that he had an especially calm face on. _I'll die before I ask Miroku to help me. It seems clear to me that even in this life, his groping habits have not been extinguished._ The only thing Kagome could do was wait for the end of the class and hope that one of her friends became suddenly enlightened.

            Miroku followed the three girls as they headed for a café after school. _That girl, Kagome… She has a strange aura around her. Even in kindergarten I knew she was slightly different from others, but now she is so obviously different. She feels like a beacon in a sea of humans, and I have a feeling her true powers have yet to awaken. Could she be a real miko? Her spiritual powers are incredibly high, so it could be possible. Is she the reason why my grandfather sent me here?_

            He watched them enter the café and order drinks. After he saw that they were all settled, he entered the café and sat down in the empty seat next to them.

            "May I join you, ladies?" he asked politely, putting on his best face for them. _I have to find out if this girl has met anything out of the ordinary. There's no way someone's spiritual power can reach as high as hers without some sort of irritation to jar it awake._

            "You're already in the seat, so why are you asking?" Kagome asked, stirring her drink. She seemed to be looking at him funny.

            "Oh!" he gasped, as if suddenly realizing his mistake. "I apologize. If you wish for me to leave, just say the word and I'll be gone." To his relief, none of the girls chased him away. "So, what were you discussing before I arrived?"

            "I was about to ask Sango-chan why she moved here, but I never got the chance to," Kagome said, turning to Sango. 

            "I moved here because of my parents. They run an exterminating business, as you know, and they wanted to start a new branch here," Sango replied, sipping her drink carefully.

            "Oh. Well then, I hope your parents succeed," Kagome said, smiling, but Miroku could feel a sort of unease rise within her.

            "You're sort of a new student here, Miroku," Kagome's friend stated, "Why did you move back?"

            "Ah, well, my parents moved to live in my grandfather's shrine a few years ago because he was sick and somebody needed to take care of the shrine while he recovered, and since my father was supposed to work there before he pursued another career, my grandfather forced him to go and help him," Miroku said, smiling pleasantly.

            "Hey! Kagome lives at a shrine, too," Kagome's friend remarked.

            "Really?" Miroku asked, truly curious.

            "You didn't explain why you moved here," Kagome said, ignoring Miroku's inquiry. _Why is she so anxious to know why I moved here? This girl has to be what my grandfather was talking about, but I have to make sure. I don't want my grandfather to be worried about nothing._

            "Well, my parents sort of got into a fight with my grandfather for his, erm, generosity to women," Miroku said, laughing embarrassedly. He hoped no one at the table knew what he meant, but he had a feeling that Kagome already knew for she was giving him very shrewd looks. "Anyway, my father got fed up with my grandfather and decided to move back into our old house."

            "Really?" Kagome asked, her gaze sharp on him. "Your old house was just sitting there for years, gathering dust until you came home?"

            "No, we rented it out," Miroku stated. _What is up with this girl? It's as if she's trying to pick apart everything I say!_ He looked at her carefully as she sipped her drink. She was frowning slightly with a worried look on her face.

            "I think I should go," Kagome said, pushing the empty drink away from her.

            "Why? Are you feeling sick again?" her friend asked worriedly.

            "N-no! Of course not," Kagome replied, a bit embarrassed Miroku noted.

            "You know, Sango, I think you must be a good luck charm or something, because ever since you've arrived, Kagome has attended every day of school," her friend said, also pushing the empty drink away from her.

            "What do you mean?" asked Sango, taking the question right out of Miroku's mouth. _Yes, Kagome, do tell us what your friend means._ He looked at Kagome sharply and saw that she was playing with the tablecloth in embarrassment.

            "Didn't you know? Up until you came, Kagome kept on having to stay home because of all sorts of diseases. I don't even remember the names of most of them!" Kagome's friend said.

            "Diseases?" Miroku asked, this time questioning Kagome as she had questioned him.

            "Yes, it all started a few months back—by the way, Kagome, what happened to that guy that you liked?" her friend asked. Miroku saw a flash of pain cross her face before it was replaced with a sad smile.

            "Oh, it didn't work out," she said, her eyes downcast.

            "Oh," her friend said, for lack of a better response.

            "I have to go," Kagome said, standing up.

            "I'll go with you," Sango said, looking at her new friend worriedly, "I'm headed the same direction you are, remember?" He saw Kagome smile her thanks at Sango and the two left the café together. He saw the third girl leave after them, heading a different direction, and he too left the café shortly.

            He headed towards his home, wondering about the information he had gathered, if indeed it was information at all. _That girl…she's hiding something. And what was that about diseases? And how about her expression when her friend mentioned her old boyfriend? And the strange way she looked at me when she was asking her questions. It was as if she suspected I came to this town for a reason. Damn! What am I going to do? All I have are suspicions, nothing to tell my grandfather. Maybe I can ask…nah. He probably wouldn't know. After all, he was in a coma these last few months, and unless he had some strange visions in his coma, he wouldn't have anything to tell me._

            He stopped in his tracks. _Maybe he did have visions in his coma. I mean, how many people have a coma for no apparent reason? _He started walking towards his friend's house. _Then again, that guy can feel practically no spiritual activity at all, which is weird, considering his heritage. _Miroku slowed down again. _Even if he knew something, I can't talk to him now. His mom would probably bite my head off for interrupting his rest, literally. _He started for his own house again. _I'll just have to ask him this Saturday. I hope his mom will let me. _Miroku felt his skin prickle suddenly, but it was so brief, he thought he had imagined it.


	14. I Remember

**Complete the Circle**

**Author's Note:** To answer tzezuko, yes, Sesshoumaru and Rin appear in the present. Inuyasha's father is not exactly alive in the present, but he's there. And Naraku is definitely going to appear again.

On another note, this story is turning out to be longer than I had originally planned. I wonder, is that a good or bad thing?

**Chapter Fourteen: I Remember**

            Sango followed Kagome as she walked home. She was walking pretty fast for a person who was supposed to have been sick until she arrived. She wondered if Kagome had made up the illness for some reason. _But what reason is there to make up an illness, or in her case, several illnesses?_

            "Kagome-chan," she said, trying to get her new friend to talk to her. She had been acting strange ever since the café. "What's the rush?"

            "Nothing," Kagome replied, slowing down a bit. "I just… I just wanted to ask Shippou something."

            "Shippou? You mean the kitsune?" Sango asked. "What did you want to ask him?"

            "Nothing," Kagome mumbled.

            "Fine then," Sango said, a bit more sharply than she had intended.

            "Sango-chan…" Kagome started, but then stopped. She bit her lip in anxiety. "Sango-chan, can you please walk with me in the park? I want to tell you some things."

            "Sure," Sango said, glad to have Kagome act semi-normal again. _But what does she want to talk to me about? Oh well. I have a few questions I want to ask her myself. Like how did two youkai end up living with her._

            The two walked to a nearby park. Sango saw a cute little slide and some children playing around. She followed Kagome as she went deeper into the park, into the more private and quiet areas. Kagome walked off the path of the park, heading into the trees. Sango followed reluctantly, wondering why they couldn't discuss what they were about to discuss in an ice cream parlor or something.

            "I think no one will be able to listen to our conversation here," Kagome said, stopping in a small clearing.

            "So, what did you want to tell me?" Sango asked, the setting sun warming her skin. She usually loved to watch the sun set, but now, she felt a strange sense of foreboding.

            "Well, the reason I left the café so quickly was because I wanted to ask Shippou something," Kagome started, "and what I wanted to ask him was how my friends…died." Sango looked at Kagome in sympathy.

            "Do you mean that little kid saw your friends die?" Sango asked, feeling pity for Kagome and Shippou.

            "Yes, but before you say anything else, I want you to understand something," Kagome said, looking at Sango levelly in the eye, "I think that you are the reincarnation of my friend." Sango was about to burst out laughing and call Kagome crazy when she continued, "Not only do you look the same, but your personalities are very similar also. I know it sounds crazy, and I'm not even sure if I'm right, but…right now it's what I believe in."

            "But, Kagome-chan," Sango said, trying to bring reason to her friend, "If what you say is true, then wouldn't I be, like, a baby or something? I mean, I should be younger than you if I'm the reincarnation of your friend. Unless you met her a long time ago, or something."

            "You're right," Kagome replied, "I did meet her a long time ago. In fact, I met her in the Sengoku Jidai." Sango looked at Kagome like she was crazy. _But Kagome-chan isn't the type to lie or joke about this type of thing. And to be able to see a youkai in this era **is** pretty rare, unless she **did** go to the Sengoku Jidai and brought the youkai to her home from there. But…but that's impossible!_

            "There's a well at the shrine where I live in," Kagome said quickly, starting to pace, "It's called the bone-gobbling well. Originally, it was used to dispose of dead youkai's bones, for whatever was thrown in the well mysteriously disappeared a few days later. The same thing sort of happened to me. I went into the well house to fetch my cat, Buyo, when a youkai came out of the well and grabbed me. It pulled me to the Sengoku Jidai, where I met and befriended you, or rather, your past self." She paused, closing her eyes as if to push a painful memory away. "Your past self joined the group that had formed around me for revenge on the one who had slain your entire village. You, Miroku-sama, Shippou, Kirara, and someone you don't remember right now had joined with me to reform the Jewel of the Four Souls, the Shikon no Tama. And to defeat Naraku, the one who you wanted revenge on. Two weeks ago, before you came here and before the well was sealed, I went to the Sengoku Jidai for our last battle against Naraku. Naraku was supposed to be killed in this battle… Naraku won." Kagome leaned against a nearby tree, sinking to her knees. "Shippou and Kirara were the only ones left alive, other than me. Shippou told me that you, I mean your past self, Miroku-sama's past self, and Inu—the guy that you don't know, all died by Naraku's hands."

            "Kagome-chan…" Sango didn't know what to say. _What am I **supposed** to say? She's talking about my past self, so how am I supposed to respond to that? It's not like I remember anything that she's saying. And if it was my past life, I don't think I **want** to remember. It seems so tragic. And yet, Kagome-chan kept on going through the well to the Sengoku Jidai just to reform the Shikon no Tama. I don't think I can be that strong or determined. And did Kagome say "Miroku-sama?" No wonder she kept on acting weird around him. How would **I** deal with this if I were in Kagome's situation? I would tell the people who look and act like my friends what had happened in their past lives in hopes of getting them to remember. Friendships aren't so easily broken, and if I were Kagome-chan, I would try to be friends with the people who used to be my friends. Does that even make any sense?_

            "I… I just thought that you should know this background, just in case," Kagome said, getting up and brushing herself off.

            "Just in case what?" Sango asked, curious and a little bit frightened by the tale that Kagome had just told her.

            "Remember Naraku won? Well, that means that he must still be alive, and since he's a powerful youkai, or rather half youkai, he will probably have lived long enough to exist in this time," Kagome said, her eyes getting a hard look. "I just want you to be prepared, in case anything weird starts to happen to you."

            "What do you mean? Naraku already killed me, so why would he want to kill me again?" Sango asked, her sense of foreboding growing stronger.

            "I know this is strange, but don't you think it's weird that first you show up, then Miroku-sama? I mean, if you're the reincarnation of someone, that doesn't restrict you to the country that your past self was born in. You could've been born in Europe, America, South America, but you were born here, and then you show up here after the well was sealed. It's almost like you're here again for a reason." Kagome frowned. "If I'm correct, then that means that whatever our mission was in the Sengoku Jidai, it hasn't ended with the sealing of the well. I think something is about to happen, and fate, or luck, has thrown us together again."

            "If you're right, then what am I supposed to do?" Sango asked, her tone slightly callous. "I don't know what I can do against Naraku, or whoever it is. I don't know any martial arts or anything. I don't have any holy powers. What do you expect me to do?"

            "I don't know!" Kagome said, frustrated. "I don't even know why this is happening! I'm supposed to be grieving for my friends, not making a battle plan on how to get my friends together then try to defeat Naraku again!" The two of them stood there in the tranquility of the grove, silent and thinking. Finally Kagome spoke again.

            "I'm thinking that nothing will probably happen until everyone from the past has gathered together again," Kagome said tiredly. "If fate did throw us together again, then I'm sure, or at least I hope, that fate is nice enough not to present us with any challenges until the old group is together again." Sango nodded silently in agreement. _This isn't fair at all! Why should my stupid past life interfere with my present life?_

_            It's kind of like Kikyo interfering with Kagome's life_, some deep part of her said.__

_            Huh? Who's Kikyo?_ Sango frowned, wondering where that name had come from. Suddenly a huge snake appeared from seemingly nowhere and grabbed Kagome.

            "Give me the Shikon no Tama!" it hissed. _It's… It's a youkai! And it's after the Shikon no Tama! Does that mean Kagome really is telling the truth?_

            "Get away!" Kagome screamed, trying to beat it off with her fists.

            "Kagome-chan, give me the Shikon no Tama! I'll distract it while you get away!" Sango suggested, her heart pounding crazily in her chest, panicking with her mind.

            "I don't **have** the Shikon no Tama!" Kagome screamed, trying to kick the snake. The snake started to squeeze her. _She doesn't have it?! Then why is that thing attacking her? Unless someone told the stupid youkai that she had it. But who would do that? Naraku?_

            Sango picked up a fallen branch and tried to hurt the snake with it, but the youkai just batted her away.

            "Fools, give me the Shikon no Tama and I might consider sparing your pitiful lives," the snake youkai hissed, squeezing Kagome more tightly. Suddenly a streak of red appeared on the side of its head and Sango heard the sound of something that sounded like a knife hitting against a tree. She looked over to where the sound had come from and found a finely crafted blade lying in the grass. She quickly ran to the blade and picked it up, cutting at the snake's tail until the snake loosened its grip enough on Kagome to allow her to escape.__

_            That was easy. This blade is better than the blade I used as a taiji-ya-san. _She looked at the blade absentmindedly before she realized that she had never even seen, much less held a real blade in her life. _But I **have**. I used a blade when my other weapon, Hiraikotsu, was unavailable to me. Wait… Hiraikotsu?_

            The snake was about to attack the two girls when a sword flashed in the dimming afternoon light, slicing the snake's head off. The body evaporated into thin air. A moment later, they saw an old man flick the blood off the sword and slide the blade gracefully back into its sheath. He walked towards the two, his face grim.

            "May I have my dagger back, Miss?" he asked. Sango obediently gave the man back his dagger. _This man… He's a youkai, too. Then why did he help us? Wait a minute… How do I know he's a youkai? _Sango felt something seem to flow through her, as if it came from her soul. _I know because…because I'm a youkai exterminator. The last left in the village. The village… It was destroyed by Naraku. And my brother, Kohaku… He was dead, but then he was alive again._ Sango didn't know what to feel at the moment. Sad because she had failed in her revenge and died? Or happy because she had a new life with both her parents and her brother, who looked amazingly similar to the old Kohaku? She had a family again, and her brother was with her once more, but Naraku was still alive.

            "You," the old man said, startling both Sango and Kagome, "be careful. That shall not be the last youkai to attack you. In this day and age, not many youkai care about the Shikon no Tama any longer, but some still do. Unless you get your act together, Miko, you should start preparing for your funeral. If you have the Shikon no Tama, then destroy it quickly, if you haven't already." The old man's gray hairs shimmered like his blade in the setting sun, his gaze steady on Kagome as his dagger melded into his arm. "I don't want some all powerful youkai destroying the peace around here. I love my family too much to see some fool of a youkai threatening their safety. Do you understand me, Miko?"

            Kagome nodded quickly. Sango was surprised when the youkai suddenly smiled.

            "Just be careful, child. You are still young. Don't do anything foolish," he said as he walked away, disappearing into a cluster of trees. Sango heard Kagome let out a sigh of relief.

            "So, there really are youkai like Inuyasha, good, I mean," Sango said, waiting for Kagome to start for the path in the park.

            "Yeah," Kagome replied, starting to walk towards the park's path. She stopped abruptly. "Sango-chan, did you just—"

            "Kagome," Sango interrupted, "I remember everything."


	15. Youkai Exterminators

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Fifteen: Youkai Exterminators **

            Kagome couldn't wait for school to be over. Shippou had explained what had happened to Inuyasha and the others to Kagome, and specifically what had happened to Miroku after Sango had died to Sango. It had been a sad, not to say strange, experience. Sango had seemed so depressed last night that Kagome had suggested that they look for a weapon suitable for a youkai exterminator tomorrow, so they were both going weapon hunting this afternoon. Kagome had decided to put off her studying in order to try and cheer Sango up, but she needn't have bothered. This morning, right before the tardy bell rang, Miroku had "tripped" again and somehow landed his hand on Sango's butt, earning him a slap from Sango. Her friend had definitely seemed to feel better after that. It was nice to know that a friend was still alive, even if they didn't remember you.

            Although Kagome tried to understand what on earth the math teacher was trying to say, neither she, nor Sango really understood what the teacher was talking about. The word problems in the math book seemed to blur into one giant difficult problem, and by the end of math class, Kagome's head was spinning. She finally gave up and asked Miroku if he understood the problems in the textbook, for he had had a smug expression throughout the entire lesson, but he hadn't understood what the teacher was saying, either. When asked why he looked so calm, he had simply remarked that he had a very good friend that just happened to excel in math, and he was going to ask him to tutor him this weekend. Kagome was going to ask Miroku if his friend would tutor her and Sango also, but Sango pulled her away.

            "Don't ask him for help," Sango whispered, "His 'good' friend is probably just like him: perverted. If you ask his friend for tutoring, who knows what else he might give you."

            "Sango-chan!" Kagome said in shock. "I'm sure Miroku-sam—I mean, Miroku's friend isn't like that." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Then again, he might," she mumbled.

            Finally, school was over. Kagome followed Sango to her house for Sango had said that she had to bring her money, just in case they found something worth buying. Kagome doubted that Sango had enough money to even buy a sword, but kept silent. She didn't want to dash her friend's hopes away.

            "Konnichiwa, Yamata-san," Kagome said to Sango's mother.

            "Oh! Kagome. Sango has told me many nice things about you. Please come on inside," Sango's mother said, inviting Kagome in. She looked around the house. The house was covered with pictures of the entire family, along with weird little gizmos lying about.

            "Sango, what are you looking for?" Sango's mother asked, trying to clear the sofa of boxes to let Kagome sit in.

            "Mama, do you know where I put my money bag?" Sango shouted, causing lots of boxes to crash in her room.

            "Why do you want your money all of a sudden?" her mother asked. "Are you trying to waste your allowance on something stupid again?"

            "Mama!" Sango huffed, irritated that her mother had such little confidence in her dealings with money.

            "Well, then why do you need your money?"

            "It's my money," Sango grumbled. Kagome finally spoke up.

            "Gomen nasai, Yamata-san," Kagome apologized to Sango's mother, "It's my fault. It's just that I told her that she should buy some sort of weapon for fun because my mom bought me bow and arrows for archery club and I thought that Sango-chan should buy a katana for, umm, kendo club." Kagome smiled, hoping that Mrs. Yamata believed her.

            "Well if you wanted a weapon, why didn't you just say so?" Mrs. Yamata questioned her daughter. "Your father has a whole bunch of old weapons just bursting to be used." Kagome looked at Sango with surprise, but Sango just shrugged, equally surprised that her family had any weapons at all.

            "I know you girls won't believe this, but these weapons I'm about to show you used to be used to slay youkai," Mrs. Yamata said, carrying a very large box and putting it on the living room table. She used a small knife and cut the tape on the top open. "Your father claims that his ancestors used to live in this village that exterminated youkai until the village was destroyed," Mrs. Yamata said, moving some things around in the box. Kagome saw Sango catching every single one of her mother's words. "Nobody knows what happened at the village, but graves for each member of the village were made. Ah, here's a good sword." She took out a blade that was similar to the one Sango used to have by her side, back when she was still in the Sengoku Jidai. "I think it might be a bit short though."

            "Mama, what other weapons do you have?" Sango asked anxiously, trying to look into the box, but her mother wouldn't allow her.

            "That's a secret between your father and I," she said jokingly. She finally relented to her daughter's pouting face. "Here's a weapon you won't find anywhere today. I believe it was called… Now, what was it called again?" her mother mumbled some more things as she reached deep into the box, trying to pull something out. Kagome thought that the box was big enough to fit Mrs. Yamata and hoped that she wouldn't fall in and hurt herself. Finally she got the thing loose and took out a humongous boomerang.

            "This thing's name is 'Hiraikotsu,'" Mrs. Yamata said, pleased to surprise the two girls. "Isn't it impressive?"

            Kagome saw Sango open her mouth in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes either.

            "Mama, where did you get this?" Sango whispered, running her hand down the familiar weapon.

            "According to your father, his ancestors found this in a beautiful green field, next to a monk's staff. Since they came from the youkai exterminating village, they knew that the boomerang was named 'Hiraikotsu' and that it had belonged to one of the best exterminators in the village. Her name was 'Sango.' That's one of the reasons why we named you Sango. She was a very brave and strong warrior, not to mention pretty and kind."

            "What happened to the staff?" Kagome asked, wondering if the staff was also Miroku's staff.

            "Oh, they picked that up with this boomerang, too. I think they believed that Sango was destroyed by a powerful youkai, along with the monk. That makes sense, considering both of them can exterminate youkai. They must have been working together when a youkai destroyed them. Oh, how romantic," Mrs. Yamata giggled, taking the jingling staff out. Sango mumbled something about weird mothers.

            "Mama, is it okay if I take the boomerang and whatever other weapons you have in there?" Sango asked, excitement showing through her eyes. Her mother's giggling attitude suddenly disappeared.

            "Why?" her mother asked rather sharply. Sango and Kagome were both surprised my Mrs. Yamata's sudden change in tone. Sango's father suddenly burst through the door, waving around a very pungent dish.

            "I've got it! I've got the formula to chase ants out of the house forever!" Mr. Yamata said, laughing.

            "That thing will chase everything out of the house," Sango remarked, holding her nose shut.

            "Anata," Mrs. Yamata said, her firm voice stopping her husband's jubilant laughter.

            "What's wrong?" he asked seriously, closing the stinking dish with another dish. Mrs. Yamata pointed to the boomerang, then the box. Mr. Yamata looked surprised, then started to smile.

            "Well, it seems that Sango is ready to live up to the old Sango," Sango's father said proudly. Sango only looked at her parents in confusion.

            "I thought the reason we moved out here was so that your crazy father wouldn't influence the kids into the youkai exterminating business," Mrs. Yamata said sourly. "I don't want my babies hurt because of a stupid tradition you have in your family."

            "Don't be so negative!" Mr. Yamata said, laughing. "Sango, if you want, I can start training you in the hundred year old tradition."

            "What tradition?" Sango asked, but Kagome felt that Sango already knew.

            "The youkai exterminating tradition, of course!" her father said. "Not that you'll actually exterminate any youkai. It's just this little tradition we have back home. Everyone in the family learns how to exterminate youkai because our ancestors back then thought it was necessary to keep the old arts alive just in case a youkai decides to attack humans again. But a youkai attacking a human is kind of rare, nowadays. Besides, I know quite a few good friends who happen to be youkai."

            "What?" was all Sango was able to say to her father's fast speech.

            "I think I'll get my friend Hayashi-san to practice with you. Hey, this might be fun," Sango's father said, getting excited. "How 'bout this Sunday? I think he is free on Sunday. All right then, it's decided. Sunday morning, we're going to go visit Hayashi-san!"

            "Don't I get a word in?" Sango asked as she watched her father waltz away, singing something. Kagome saw Mrs. Yamata shake her head sadly.

            "He always gets this way when he talks about the Tradition. Honestly, doesn't he even think?" Mrs. Yamata asked herself. "His friend is a youkai, and he's always barging in there asking to have a little match with him. Doesn't he know it's embarrassing as his wife to watch him lose his match every time?"

            "Mama, how come you never told me that we came from a family of youkai exterminators?" Sango asked, slightly annoyed that she didn't know how similar her heritage was to her past life.

            "I didn't know if you were interested in being one. Besides, no one in the family has slain a youkai in centuries. What makes you think we can even be **called** youkai exterminators?" her mother questioned. "I say we stick to household pests. At least we can handle **those**."

            An explosion came from the kitchen and the entire house was filled with a very mind-numbing smoke that nearly burned the nose off anyone that smelled it. Kagome decided that it was a good time to leave. Her mother would be getting worried.

            "I told you to work in your den! Now how am I supposed to cook dinner?" Kagome heard Mrs. Yamata shout before she left the smoking house, hurrying to her own home, which seemed normal and boring compared to Sango's.


	16. A Walk in the Mall

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Sixteen: A Walk in the Mall**

            It was Saturday and Sango had decided to go and study for the upcoming math test with Kagome. They had both pondered over the vague teachings in the mathematics textbook, and when it became apparent to them that no amount of studying was going to bring them sudden enlightenment, they decided to go to the mall and forget about their troubles for a little while. Besides, Kagome wanted to buy Shippou some new clothes.

            They arrived at the mall and had shopped around for what seemed only to be a few minutes to Kagome and Sango, but an eternity to Shippou, when Shippou finally complained enough to cause the two ladies to relent their shopping. So, the trio decided to go buy some drinks.

            "Shippou-chan, don't look so down. These new clothes look really cute on you," Kagome said, trying to get the child to stop dragging his feet and looking sulky.

            "I already have enough clothes," Shippou whined, "Why did you have to drag me all the way out here and waste my time? Souta could be teaching me how to play that new game he got."

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome scolded lightly, a bit angry that he didn't appreciate her hard work in picking his clothes, but she ruffled the child's hair fondly. _Shippou is much more like himself since Sango remembered. I wonder how Sango feels about all of this?_ She saw the youkai exterminator look at everything around her with mixed expressions of familiarity and wonder.

            "You know, Kagome-chan," Sango said, looking at her surroundings with new eyes, "Just walking across the mall is making me feel funny. It's like a part of me knows what all of this is already, and is not impressed, but the other part is surprised at everything. I feel like two different people are in me."

            "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Sango-chan," Kagome apologized, looking away.

            "Don't be ridiculous," Sango said, patting Kagome lightly on the shoulder, "I would've remembered sooner or later. I'm just glad that I had a friend that understood me when I suddenly remembered everything. It must've been lonely, being the only ones who remembered, right Kagome-chan? Shippou?"

            "I wasn't that lonely because I still had Kagome with me!" Shippou said, grinning happily. "And now you remember, too, so I'm not that lonely anymore."

            "I have to admit, I felt sort of lonely when I saw you and you didn't remember anything," Kagome admitted, "But now, I feel… I don't know… Sort of guilty for making you remember."

            "Why would you feel guilty?" Sango asked, surprised.

            "Doesn't it feel like someone else has taken possession of your body and memories?" Kagome asked. "I mean, **I** wouldn't want Kikyo's memories and emotions in **me**." 

            "That's only because Kikyo tried to kill Inuyasha, and you lo—er, cared about Inuyasha," Sango said, trying to cheer her friend up. "Maybe you and Kikyo are really different, but I feel almost the same. I have both my parents and my brother. Having the memories of my past life only made me appreciate my family even more. The only difference now that I've regained my memories is that now I remember how much I love Miroku," she said wistfully, then blushed deep red as she realized she had said the last part out loud.

            "I knew it!" Kagome said, smiling widely with Shippou, "You love Miroku-sama."

            "Sango's in love. Sango's in love," Shippou said in a singsong voice, causing Sango to blush even deeper. Kagome giggled at her friend's embarrassment.

            "It's okay, Sango-chan," Kagome said, "Shippou-chan and I kinda figured that you were in love with him. The only one dense enough not to figure it out was Inuyasha." Kagome was surprised that she had actually said Inuyasha's name without choking or getting all depressed.

            "Kagome, Sango, look over there!" Shippou shouted excitedly, "It's Miroku!" Sango and Kagome turned towards the direction that Shippou was pointing, and indeed Miroku was sitting in a seat by a round table, talking to someone who's back was turned towards them.

            "Should we go say 'hi'?" Kagome asked, "It looks like he's busy talking to someone."

            "Well, he barged into **our** conversation back at the café, so I don't see why we can't barge in on his," Sango said.

            "Sango just wants to talk to her Miroku-poo," Shippou snickered, causing Sango to turn red again.

            "There seems to be enough seats at the table to accommodate all of us, so I think it's okay if we talk to him awhile," Kagome said, trying to hide her smile and not cause her friend more embarrassment.

            "Come on," Shippou said, dragging the two girls towards the table. "If we keep talking to Miroku, maybe he'll remember, too." Kagome saw Sango's eyes light up with that small hope, and the trio walked boldly to Miroku's table.

            "Hi, Miroku-sam—uh, san," Kagome said, hoping her mistake wasn't too obvious. "I didn't expect to see you here."

            "Yeah, aren't you supposed to be with your tutoring friend?" Sango asked, hoping she didn't sound like she liked him or anything.

            "Well, I am," Miroku answered, gesturing to the person sitting next to him. "Only I'm not getting tutored right now." The three turned to the person sitting next to him and stifled their gasps.

            "Inuyasha!" Shippou cried out, forgetting about his caution about Inuyasha being a transformed Naraku and running to him, jumping onto Inuyasha's lap and hugging him tightly. Involuntary tears started to flow from the little kitsune's eyes, making the Inuyasha look-alike's shirt wet. "I missed you!" the little fox sobbed, making the guy he was clinging to very nervous.

            "Uh, um… There, there now," the person who looked like Inuyasha said, trying to soothe the little child. He started to pat the small child's head, using one arm to hold Shippou and rocking him gently. His action surprised Kagome and Sango immensely.

            "Inu—Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, not quite believing that the person who was comforting Shippou before could really be Inuyasha. _I've never, **ever** seen Inuyasha treat **anyone** like this. He's always so gruff… But, then again, this isn't really Inuyasha, is it? It's just someone who looks incredibly similar, right?_

            The two girls and one guy watched quietly as "Inuyasha" calmed the small child that was hugging him. Miroku invited the two ladies to take a seat at the table as Shippou's sobs gradually subsided.

            "Inuyasha, how come you never came looking for us?" Shippou asked, looking into the older boy's eyes. For some reason, he had expected golden eyes and silver hair. Instead, they were lavender, and this person's hair was black. Suddenly Shippou jumped away from the man, looking at him with hostility, his suspicions returning now that his brain caught up with him.

            "Huh?" was all the other could say before Miroku suddenly spoke.

            "How do you know his name is Inuyasha?" he asked, eyes narrowed dangerously, looking at the child with suspicion.

            "Is his name Inuyasha?" asked Sango, wondering why the former monk was looking at them so suspiciously.

            "Why did **you** call him Inuyasha?" he asked, addressing Shippou.

            "Hey Miroku, chill out," Miroku's friend said, trying to calm him down. "I'm sure he must've just heard my mom calling me that. It's no big deal."

            "So your name **is** 'Inuyasha'?" Kagome asked, hope rising within her. _But a name is just a name. It doesn't really mean anything… _But hope rose within her regardless of her thoughts.

            "Actually, no," the person who's name wasn't "Inuyasha" said. Sango could feel Kagome droop slightly with that tiny bit of information. "My name's Musashino. Hayashi Musashino. I'm pleased to meet you." He smiled gently at them, catching the three off guard. Although Musashino seemed ready to be friends with the three, Miroku was still regarding them warily.

            "But didn't you say a moment ago that your mother calls you 'Inuyasha'?" Sango asked, frowning.

            "Ah, well, um…" They saw Musashino's face turn slightly red. "It's kind of like her pet name for me. It's not my real name, if you know what I mean."

            "Oh," Shippou said, answering for the three of them. Kagome saw Shippou twitch his nose and figured that he was trying to sniff to see if this person was Inuyasha. The scent seemed to be close enough for Shippou relaxed visibly and actually smiled at Musashino.

            "Thanks for, um, not knocking me out when I was…being weird," Shippou said, flushing out of embarrassment for his display of weakness among others.

            "It's okay," Musashino replied, chewing thoughtfully on a French fry. "You kind of allowed me to feel what it would be like to have a little brother for a while, so really, I should be thanking you." He saw the three give him a surprised look and thought he had said something wrong.

            "What?" he asked.

            "Nothing," the three of them replied in unison. Musashino gave them a weird look while Miroku frowned.

            "Did you really feel that I was your little brother for a while?" Shippou asked, standing on the chair in order to be seen above the table.

            "Well, yeah," Musashino replied, scratching his head in confusion. "Is that wrong?"

            "No!" Shippou said loudly, startling Musashino and Miroku. "I'll be happy to be your brother."

            "But, you don't even know me," Musashino said, getting more and more confused with this boy.

            "That's okay," Shippou said, grinning, "I know you're a good person."

            "And just how do you know that, kitsune?" Miroku asked in a low voice, shocking the entire group.

            "Kitsune? You sure?" Musashino asked, trying to find any fault in the small boy's physical appearance. Kagome and Sango started to get very nervous, not to mention Shippou who was frozen in fear. This Miroku seemed to regard them with hostility, and they didn't really know him well enough to guess what his intentions were.

            "Wha-What are you talking about?" Kagome asked nervously, trying to smile.

            "You of all people should know, Miko," Miroku said. Kagome felt herself freeze. _How does Miroku know I'm a priestess if he doesn't remember anything from his past? Does he have powers in this life, too?_

            "Miko?" asked Musashino, utterly clueless as to what the others were talking about.

            "I don't know what you're talking about," Kagome said, finally getting the nerve to talk back to Miroku. "Why are you calling me a 'miko'?"

            "Aren't you honored to be called a person with special powers?" Musashino asked, now thoroughly confused.

            "Why should I be honored to be called something that I'm not?" asked Kagome rather hotly.

            "Sorry," Musashino mumbled, but her denial of being a miko only seemed to make Miroku more confident that she was one.

            "You are not the only one with powers," he hissed, trying to keep his voice low so that people passing by wouldn't hear what he was saying. "I sensed your spiritual power ever since we were in kindergarten, and I can sure sense it now." He turned towards Shippou, his glance as suspicious as ever. "I can feel the youki coming from this boy, so don't bother trying to deny that he is a youkai."

            "Does it matter if he is a youkai or not?" Sango asked, losing her temper with the reincarnation of the priest.

            "What I would like to know is why a priestess has a youkai so close to her," Miroku said coldly, his gaze freezing Sango's insides. "Is the miko using the boy as a bait to lure other youkai out?"

            "Why would you care?" Sango said, struggling to keep her voice low. She wanted to give Miroku a good slap right about now, but knew it wouldn't really be right.

            "Does anyone want a drink?" Musashino asked loudly, his eyes flashing, looking for a moment like the old Inuyasha. "If no one says anything, then everyone is getting lemonade." He took the silence as a yes for lemonade and got up to get some. In Musashino's absence, Miroku said nothing, giving Kagome, Sango and Shippou dark looks. Musashino returned a moment later with a large jug of lemonade and five cups.

            "All right, people, I hope this'll cool you off," Musashino said, pouring everyone a generous amount of lemonade.

            "I **am** cool," Miroku said, not reaching for his cup like the others were.

            "Miroku," Musashino growled in a low voice, "Shut the hell up." Miroku was surprised by his words, but said nothing more.

            "So," Musashino started in a friendly voice, "Kid, are you really a real kitsune?" Shippou looked at Kagome and Sango for help, but none of them were able to make a gesture without Miroku seeing.

            "Uh… What will you do if I say yes?" Shippou asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He saw Miroku nudge Musashino as if to say "I told you so." Musashino ignored him.

            "Nothing really," he answered drinking his lemonade. "You kitsune really are too powerful for me to do anything against you, so the safest action for me is to do nothing." Sango was starting to look at Musashino suspiciously, but he ignored her too.

            "Really? Kitsune are more powerful than you?" Shippou asked, wrinkling his nose in what he hoped was discreetly. He caught the scent of…nothing. Which was very strange for the nothingness **smelled** like Inuyasha's old scent. Shippou was getting very confused. _It smells like Inuyasha, but it also seems…empty. Like…a void. But it's not really a void. It just…doesn't have the scent of a human **or **a youkai. Just Inuyasha. What **is** this person?_

            "Yup," Musashino replied nonchalantly.

            "Does that mean you hate them?" Shippou asked hesitantly. He hoped that this person, whoever, or whatever he was, wouldn't hate him.

            "I don't have any reason to hate kitsune," Musashino said, offering Kagome more lemonade. "Tell you what. I don't really care what you are. If you're kitsune, fine. If you're human, that's fine, too. If you want to be my brother, that's no skin off my nose either."

            "I can be your brother?" Shippou asked eagerly.

            "Sure, you can even call me Inuyasha if you want. My mom calls me that, and Miroku calls me that, too," he said, nudging Miroku in the ribs very hard in order to get a confirming grunt from him.

            "So, what are **we** supposed to call you?" asked Kagome, gesturing to herself and Sango.

            "If you want to call me Inuyasha, then you can," he said, "but among people who don't know my, um, 'nickname' I guess, you have to call me 'Musashino.' I don't want a whole bunch of people running around calling me 'dog demon.' It gets on my nerves after a while. Especially since most people would probably make fun of the name."

            "I would never dream of making fun of it," Kagome said, nearly getting out of her seat, furious, for some reason, at the thought of people making fun of Inuyasha's name.

            "Okay, okay," Musashino, or Inuyasha, said. "So, to satisfy **my** curiosity, are you a miko or not?"

            "I am, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," Kagome said, hoping that both this Inuyasha and Miroku were trustworthy.

            "Is the kid a kitsune?" Inuyasha asked, sounding thoroughly interested.

            "You just said you didn't care!" Kagome said, getting nervous with the questions. _Why's Miroku all mean? And is Musashino, or Inuyasha, asking these questions for a specific reason? Can I even trust these two?_

            "I don't," he said, "I'm just curious."

            "Well, he is," Kagome admitted reluctantly, hoping that she wasn't getting Shippou and herself deeper into trouble.

            "And you know that she's a miko with a youkai companion?" Inuyasha asked Sango, slightly surprised.

            "Well, yeah…" Sango mumbled. This day wasn't turning out as she had expected.

            "Amazing," Inuyasha said, whacking himself on the forehead. "All of you knew, and I was the only clueless idiot who didn't know." Nobody knew what to say to that.

            "Hey!" Inuyasha said, turning to Kagome, "Why do you have a youkai with you, anyway? Aren't priestesses supposed to slay youkai?"

            "I don't slay good youkai," Kagome said, slightly miffed that Inuyasha had thought her to be the type that killed youkai without reason.

            "And what's your definition of a good youkai?" asked Inuyasha.

            "The type that doesn't kill for no good reason," Kagome replied.

            "So if I was a youkai and somebody stole my hamburger, and I killed him, you wouldn't kill me?" he asked.

            "Wha-what kind of analogy is that?" spluttered Kagome.

            "Hey," Inuyasha said, ignoring Kagome's question, realizing something, "I don't even know your name yet. Well? Are you going to tell me?"

            "My name is Higurashi Kagome," she said, blinking at the sudden change in subject.

            "Aren't you going to tell me **your** name?" he asked, addressing Sango.

            "I'm Yamata Sango," she replied, surprised. The old Inuyasha would never ask for people's names.

            "How 'bout you, O mighty kitsune?" he asked, grinning at Shippou.

            "I'm Shippou," he said, grinning back. "Higurashi Shippou." He kind of liked this new Inuyasha better; he was more affectionate and friendly. Then again, he was also kind of weird.

            "Oh, so Kagome's family adopted you, eh?" he asked, gathering the empty cups and throwing it away. "What happened to your real parents?"

            Shippou let out a sigh of exasperation. The old Inuyasha and the new Inuyasha were equally blunt. He wondered when Inuyasha would ever learn some tact.


	17. Muse About the Others

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Seventeen: Muse About the Others**

            Inuyasha walked next to Miroku, feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun warm his cheeks. It was silent between them, the only sounds coming from the cars and people passing by. Miroku could feel Inuyasha shift uncomfortably in the silence. His friend was never one for silent, serious atmospheres.

            "So, what was with you back there?" Inuyasha asked, breaking the silence. "You weren't acting like your usual self."

            "I don't trust them," Miroku said.

            "No reason to get all mean on them," Inuyasha said, clueless as to why Miroku was suspicious of them. "They seemed pretty nice to me."

            "Well, you're an idiot," Miroku grumbled, wondering how on earth did he ever land with an idiot like Inuyasha for his best friend.

            "Hey, you don't have to take your anger out on me," Inuyasha grumbled back, but Miroku could see that he wasn't irritated by his insult at all.

            "The girl's a miko," Miroku said, figuring that would explain all.

            "So?"

            "You idiot! Miko's slay youkai!" Miroku said loudly, losing his temper.

            "She just said she doesn't slay 'good' youkai," Inuyasha replied calmly.

            "What makes you think you fall under the category of a 'good' youkai?" Miroku asked, his calm mask once in place again. _Gah, Inuyasha irritates the hell out of me sometimes._

            "Puh-lease," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes. "I can't even kill an ant with my powers, much less a human."

            "That's true," he said, annoying Inuyasha. "That's not my biggest worry though."

            "Really? Then what?" Inuyasha asked, managing to sound bored. _Asshole_, Miroku was tempted to say, but held his tongue. His friend was still stronger than him without his powers, and he knew for a fact that Inuyasha was smart, so insulting him now would probably have a consequence later, and he didn't want to test just how smart Inuyasha was with the more...creative side of his brain.

            "My grandfather had a bad feeling. Yes, like a premonition or something," Miroku said before Inuyasha interrupted. "He sent me here because he wanted me to find out if anything strange was happening around here. So, I'm kinda like a scout, trying to see if anything is out of place."

            "And you think Kagome and Shippou are the ones your grandfather was…um, 'feeling,' right?" Inuyasha asked.

            "Are you stupid? A miko and a youkai, living together, under one roof; that's not suspicious to you?" Miroku said, trying to control his temper.

            "Kagome has been here since kindergarten," Inuyasha reminded Miroku. Inuyasha suddenly frowned. "Weird. I should've remembered her from kindergarten. Why didn't I remember her name?" Miroku ignored his friend's wonderings and continued his suspicions.

            "Were you even paying attention to that kid, Shippou? He says his parents were killed by youkai who were after a treasure in his father's possession, and when you asked if those youkai who killed his parents were punished, he said yes. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" Miroku questioned. "He loses his parents, then all of a sudden he doesn't have to carry out his vengeance any more because some dude just popped out of nowhere and took care of those goons for him, and then a miko comes and adopts him? That's not weird to you?"

            "What? It could happen," Inuyasha said in pretend naivety.

            "I think the tale's too coincidental, or the boy's lying, or at least, stretching the truth," Miroku stated. He saw Inuyasha shrug.

            "There's also been one other thing that's bothering me," Miroku said quietly. "It's you. Your aura…it's different."

            "Different? What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, looking himself over. "I don't feel any different."

            "I didn't think you would," Miroku said. "It's just a small difference, very slight and easily overlooked. If I didn't know you as long as I have, I wouldn't have noticed it."

            "Are you going to tell me what's different or not?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

            "Remember how I told you that you lack the aura of a human or a youkai?" Miroku asked, watching Inuyasha nod exasperatedly. "Well now, your aura seems even more empty."

            "Huh?"

            "I don't know how to explain it," Miroku said, frustrated with his inability to pin down what was wrong with his friend. "It's like you got some extra power to boost your nothingness. I didn't think anyone could have an aura as empty as yours, I mean, even the least sensitive person has some spiritual aura around them, but with you, it's empty. A void. A blank."

            "Alright already," Inuyasha said, cutting the monk off from more detailed descriptions of his aura. "Who cares if it's more empty? I want to know when it starts to get **opposite** of empty."

            "Don't interrupt me," Miroku said, ignoring Inuyasha's question. "I was thinking that this recent development has something to do with you awakening from your coma."

            "Don't be so dramatic," Inuyasha scoffed, rolling his eyes.

            "I'm serious here! Ever since you got back from the hospital, your aura's been different. Plus, you almost forgot who I was! Sure, you remembered who your grandfather was and mostly everything else, but you almost forgot who your own parents were!" Miroku said, his frustration apparent in his words.

            "Hey, I still remembered their names," Inuyasha said defensively.

            "That's not the point! You couldn't remember their beings. I know it was only for a couple of minutes, but in that small time, your mind drew a blank on these people. Even your favorite 'onii-chan' was forgotten. And what about your sister? It wasn't as bad with her, but I saw the confusion in your eyes in that brief second. It's like specific things in your mind were erased," Miroku said, stopping to catch his breath.

            "I…" Inuyasha started, but paused. "You're right," he said in a soft voice. "I didn't remember. I didn't think anyone noticed, but I guess I was wrong."

            Silence surrounded them again as they neared Inuyasha's house. Inuyasha was about to enter his home when Miroku pulled him back.

            "What now?" Inuyasha asked, impatience in his voice again.

            "I'm not sure if this is important or not, but…" Miroku hesitated, then plowed on. "That night, the night that you, er, 'dropped dead,' I suppose," Miroku said, Inuyasha rolling his eyes at him once more. "I saw something come out of you. I don't know what it was, but… I don't know. I could be wrong about this whole thing but…"

            "Get on with it, will ya?" Inuyasha said, crossing his arms.

            "It could have been your soul. It could have been the remaining of your spiritual energy, if you ever had any before. It could have been anything." Miroku watched Inuyasha's face for any reactions. His friend was not exactly good at hiding his expressions, but now he had a strangely stony face, almost calm in its lack of emotions.

            "I saw an orb of light. A shining jewel, more exactly. While I was 'sleeping.' That was the first thing I remembered, or saw… Whatever." Inuyasha looked at Miroku meaningfully in the eye. He wasn't lying, or playing a joke on his best friend. "I'll let you figure the rest out."

            Sango walked next to Kagome, her mind occupied with the day's events. The transformed kitsune trotted next to them, his expression changing from happiness to gloominess with his thoughts. Sango had no doubt that Shippou was thinking along the same lines as she.__

Why had Miroku acted so cold and hostile towards them?

            Sango felt herself clench her fists in anger. _If that monk doesn't give a good excuse for his actions, I'm going to beat the crap out of him._ She was slightly startled with her thoughts, but she wasn't that surprised. Why shouldn't she get angry? Her…friend had just turned his back on her, pretending not to know her. Fine, he wasn't pretending, but still, he should have had more faith in her. Even if he didn't know her in this life, the emotions he had in his past life should still have somehow stayed in him, getting him to trust her.

            Sango almost stopped walking in that thought. The emotions of the past life should still somehow influence the present, even if it was a small influence. But Miroku had shown no interest in her, no welcoming familiarity. When she had met Kagome, she knew she could trust the girl, yet Miroku showed no such trust. He had not felt the sudden friendship that had sprung up between her and Kagome. _Well, except to touch my butt. But that doesn't really count, does it? He probably does that stupid trick all the time in his other school. Does that mean Miroku never really liked me at all?_

            "Inuyasha's…not the same, is he?" Kagome asked, her question interrupting Sango's thoughts.

            "Well, he doesn't seem that angry or mean anymore," Shippou's small voice piped up.

            "I'm sure he's only different because he was raised differently in this life," Sango said, hoping her experience with two lives gave her to wisdom to speak on such matters. "Perhaps this life has been gentler on him, so he doesn't need his mean façade anymore."

            "I guess…" Kagome said, still unconvinced. Sango couldn't blame her. To come face to face with her own incarnation, then to find the incarnation willing to kill the one she loved out of malice was not something the girl could easily forget. To Kagome, one reincarnation was drastically different from another. After all, how could Kagome imagine herself willing to kill Inuyasha? It was easier to believe that she and Kikyo were two different people than to believe that Kikyo's experience had led her to become a ghost of vengeance. So in Kagome's mind, this Inuyasha may not be the Inuyasha that she loved.

            "At least Inuyasha was nice," Shippou said, looking up at Kagome. "Miroku was just plain mean."

            Sango felt herself almost freeze at those words.

            "He kept looking at us mean, and he kept asking those questions," Shippou continued, oblivious to Sango's discomfort. Kagome quickly shushed the child from saying more to upset Sango.

            "He's right," Sango said, interrupting Kagome's scolding looks at Shippou. "Miroku is different. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

            "I'm sure he was acting that way for a good reason," Kagome said, trying to comfort her friend. "Miroku's not the type to do something on a whim."

            "He may be in this life," Sango said softly.

            "But he's still perverted, so maybe there's a chance that he's still the same. We probably just caught him on a bad day," Kagome said, trying to sound cheerful.

            "It doesn't matter," Sango said, sounding exhausted. "We'll find out what he's really like, won't we? In the mean time, I better go home and get a good night's rest. My dad's bringing me to his 'good' youkai friend tomorrow for 'training' or whatever. I hope his 'good' friend doesn't eat me if I lose."

            "You won't lose, Sango-chan," Kagome said encouragingly. "You're the best youkai exterminator in your village. You're not going to lose your skill, especially since you've got the memory of all your experience in your head. Besides, Shippou-chan and I will be there to cheer you on."

            "You're going, too?" Sango asked, surprised.

            "Sure, if your parents will let us," Kagome said. "Ask your parents for us. If we're there, we can protect you with our powers if your dad's friend decides to eat you, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

            "Unless the youkai decides to eat you two first," Sango said dryly.

            "Well, there's that too," Kagome giggled nervously. Sango smiled at her friend's effort to make her smile. If no one else in the world could remember what happened in the Sengoku Jidai, at least she still had Kagome and Shippou, not to mention Kirara.


	18. No Youki

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Eighteen: No Youki**

            Kagome tried to take deep, calming breaths as she walked out of Mr. Yamata's car. She didn't know where the man had gotten his license, but someone like him should never have passed the driving test. Kagome leaned against the cool fence surrounding the house, trying not to hurl her breakfast onto the ground. Shippou was next to her, pretending not to be sick very poorly. She saw Sango, along with Mrs. Yamata get out of the car casually, as if nothing had happened. They were probably used to Mr. Yamata's way of driving. Kohaku had decided to stay at Kagome's house to play with Souta, even though he had never met him before. He probably figured it was better to stay at a stranger's house than risk a ride with his father, a decision Kagome regretfully agreed with.

            "Here we go! Hayashi-san's house. I haven't been here in, what? Ever since Sango was born?" he asked Mrs. Yamata.

            "No, two years after Sango was born," Mrs. Yamata corrected her husband. "Did you call him to let him know you were coming?"

            "Of course I did!" Mr. Yamata said indignantly. "He even decided to invite his grandson to spar with Sango." Mrs. Yamata gave her husband a disbelieving look, causing him to splutter angrily. Sango ignored her bickering parents and rang the doorbell.

            Kagome saw the house to be in the style of mansions she had seen during the Sengoku Jidai. It had a tiled roof, and white walls, and when the door opened, she saw the inside had mats covering the wooden floor.

            Kagome felt Sango elbow her very hard in the stomach, and was about to demand loudly why she had done that when she looked up and saw what had caught Sango's attention. An old man was standing there, his gray hair and wrinkles being the only thing that betrayed his age for he stood up straight and tall, and his form was lean and muscular as a result of exercise. This was **not** an old man who sat in front of a television set all day. 

            Kagome frowned, feeling that she had seen this man somewhere, but she couldn't quite remember where. It was Sango's shocked face that caused her to realize that this was the same man that had rescued her and Sango the other day: the youkai with the swords that had killed the snake youkai.

            "So, I see you're still alive and doing well?" the old man said, smiling. Kagome had the feeling that he was addressing more than just Mr. and Mrs. Yamata.

            "We're doing very well, thank you," Mrs. Yamata said.

            "Hayashi-san, how have you been?" Mr. Yamata said, shaking his hand. The old man looked amused with Mr. Yamata.

            "Did you come here after finally sharpening your skills?" Mr. Hayashi asked, looking sternly at Mr. Yamata.

            "Ah, well… Hee hee," Mr. Yamata laughed nervously. "Err, no. Actually, I came here to ask you to train my daughter, Sango in you know what." The old man looked over the two girls, then at the little boy.

            "I did not know you had two daughters," the man questioned, a twinkle in his eyes.

            "Huh? Oh! I'm sorry," Mr. Yamata apologized quickly. "Allow me to introduce Sango. She's my daughter. This is Kagome and Shippou. They're Sango's friends."

            "And I assume they all know what I am?" Mr. Hayashi questioned, winking at Kagome and Sango.

            "Of course," Mr. Yamata said. Mr. Hayashi sighed.

            "You and your big mouth. How many others know?" Mr. Hayashi asked, waving for them to come in.

            "Just my son, Kohaku," Mr. Yamata said.

            "Why isn't he here?" Mr. Hayashi asked, leading them to a very large room covered with blue mats for cushioning falls.

            "I don't think he's very interested in the art," Mr. Yamata said sadly. Mrs. Yamata just snorted, and Kagome caught a smile tugging at Mr. Hayashi's lips.

            "Yamata-san, please lead your daughter to change her clothes. I believe there is a size that can suite her in the third shelf," Mr. Hayashi said. Sango looked at Kagome helplessly as her mother led her away. "My grandson should be here shortly. I sent him to get some tea."

            A while later, Sango appeared, dressed in a body fitting black suit, covered by a plain kimono. She looked like she was wearing her youkai exterminating outfit without the armor, and had her normal kimono over it. She moved comfortably in the clothes, for they felt like the ones she used to wear.

            "You look nice," Kagome said as Sango sat down next to her. Sango smiled at Kagome's compliment.

            "Shit!" someone yelled from down the hall, and everyone in the room politely tuned out the string of curses the person yelled as they heard something break. Mr. Hayashi looked slightly annoyed, but smiled like a host should at his guests, ignoring the noises coming from the other room.

            "Miroku, you asshole, why the hell did you sneak up on me?" the person yelled in a familiar voice. Some mumbling was heard, presumably from Miroku, then, "I AM NOT SHOUTING!!!"

            Some stomping was heard from the hallway, then a fuming Inuyasha holding a tray with tea emerged, followed by Miroku who was rubbing the bump on his head. Inuyasha turned from Miroku and saw who his grandfather's guests were.

            "Huh? Kagome? Shippou? Sango? What are you three doing here?" he asked in confusion, still holding the tray of tea.

            "Inuyasha?" the three questioned in unison. His grandfather raised his eyebrows at what the three called him, but said nothing.

            "Musashino, please set the tray down so the guests may have their tea," he said, looking sternly at his grandson. Inuyasha put the tray of tea down and everyone got a cup of tea, except for Shippou, who didn't know if he really should.

            "Shippou, do you want hot chocolate or something?" Inuyasha asked the boy, smiling. Shippou nodded enthusiastically.

            "Don't destroy the kitchen, now," his grandfather said in a threatening voice, but Kagome caught another hint of a smile in his eyes.

            "I didn't destroy it! I just sort of accidentally knocked a teapot over." Kagome saw Inuyasha grin nervously and Mr. Hayashi's eyes narrow.

            "It didn't happen to be the one with the sakura blossoms on it, right?" Mr. Hayashi asked in a low and dangerous voice.

            "Uh, maybe?" Inuyasha asked.

            "Musashino!" his grandfather yelled as Inuyasha quickly ran out of the room. The group heard some pounding in the hallway, a clash of wood on wood, a string of curses, and a complaint that it was all Miroku's fault. Miroku just sat there calmly, sipping his tea.

            "Don't worry," he said, smiling pleasantly, a sharp contrast from the day before, "this happens all the time." The guests decided to sip their tea and keep their thoughts to themselves. Shippou edged a bit closer to Kagome.

            Finally the house, if it could be called that, quieted down, and Inuyasha and his grandfather appeared a moment later, Inuyasha sporting quite a few number of bumps on his head. He grumbled something about a "Jii-jii" and another bump was added to his head. He gave Shippou the hot chocolate and sulked as his grandfather asked Sango to explain how she had met Inuyasha.

            "So you met in the mall, hmm?" asked Mr. Hayashi, stroking his beard and giving Inuyasha a sharp look. Inuyasha gulped. "And I thought that you were out studying with Miroku on Saturday." Inuyasha wisely kept silent.

            "We also met Miroku," Sango said, reminding herself not to call him "houshi-sama."

            "Oh? How did he respond to you?" Mr. Hayashi asked. Kagome thought that was a weird question.

            "He was…nice," Sango lied. Inuyasha snorted, and she gave him a death glare. He decided to go back to sulking.

            "I was rather rude to them, Hayashi-sensei," Miroku said, surprising the rest of the group. "I think you know for what reasons." Mr. Hayashi nodded his understanding.

            "I apologize on behalf of my student," Mr. Hayashi said, bowing slightly. "But you need not fear us, Miko." Sango's parents looked at each other in confusion. Mr. Hayashi looked surprised as Sango did not move to explain what he was talking about to her parents.

            "Higurashi-san here has great miko powers," he explained to Mr. and Mrs. Yamata. "She is the reason why my pupil may have acted, shall we say, unusual."

            "Oh, because you're youkai, and your pupil thought a miko might want to slay you?" Mr. Yamata said, earning him a shove from his wife.

            "Insensitive prick," Mrs. Yamata mumbled.

            "It's all right," Mr. Hayashi said, smiling as he helped Mr. Yamata back to his sitting position. "Now that we understand why Miroku acted strangely to you, I think it's time you three young ones understand what I do." Sango looked at Kagome in confusion, and Kagome looked at Shippou who just shrugged.

            "I am a youkai, as you should already know. And what I do during the day when I'm not hunting and slaying humans," he joked, "I run a dojo. Miroku and my grandson are my students, among other people. I also happen to train future youkai exterminators and try and polish old ones," he said, looking at Mr. Yamata, who squirmed under his scrutiny.

            "Why would a youkai train youkai exterminators?" Shippou wondered out loud. Kagome shushed him.

            "Good question, Shippou," Mr. Hayashi said. "I train exterminators because I feel humans should at least have some protection against youkai. Of course, I don't train humans who hate youkai, and only want to exterminate youkai for revenge or whatnot. You understand, don't you, little kitsune?" Shippou gulped and nodded.

            "Shippou is a kitsune?" Mr. Yamata asked, looking at the small boy in surprise. Shippou nodded and with a brief nod from Mr. Hayashi, transformed himself to the little boy with a tail that Kagome was familiar with. Mr. and Mrs. Yamata gasped in surprise. Shippou transformed back into a normal looking boy in embarrassment.

            "Cool," Inuyasha grinned. "I could never do that." Kagome looked at him in surprise. _That's right. Inuyasha should still have youkai blood in him, but I don't see any dog ears or anything. And he doesn't even feel like a youkai. I'll have to ask him later, if he doesn't mind._

            "Sango, please come up here and take this," Mr. Hayashi said, handing her a wooden sword. "I want to see where you're at before I start any lessons. Musashino, go up and show Sango how to do the first exercise." Kagome watched as Inuyasha showed Sango how to do each of the exercises, sometimes correcting her posture, and other times congratulating her on her good form.

            "So, you're probably wondering why my grandson said that," Mr. Hayashi said suddenly, surprising Kagome. She nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. She noticed that the sounds of Inuyasha instructing Sango had disappeared, even though he was still teaching her the different exercises. She looked around her and realized that all sounds, other than the sounds emitted from herself and Mr. Hayashi, were silenced. Mr. Hayashi noticed her observation.

            "I have created a small barrier that blocks all sounds made by us. I don't want the Yamata couple to hear our conversation," he explained. "And I believe Musashino would get…let us say 'touchy,' if he hears what I am telling you."

            "Ano, Hayashi-san, if you don't want others to hear whatever it is you are about to say, then why would you tell **me**?" Kagome asked, feeling slightly nervous to the youkai. If he decided to kill her now, there would really be no one to help her.

            "Because you are a miko and the guardian of the Shikon no Tama," he answered, his gaze straying to his grandson. "But before I completely answer your questions, will you please answer mine?" Kagome looked to the old man in confusion, but nodded. "You haven't destroyed the Shikon no Tama, have you?"

            "Umm, no," Kagome said in a quiet voice, feeling as if though she had let Mr. Hayashi down.

            "I suspected as much," he sighed. "That boy, Shippou, he has a Shikon shard in him, doesn't he? That is why he can maintain his illusion for so long, correct?"

            "Yes," Kagome answered, no quite sure why he was so concerned about the Shikon no Tama. Didn't he say he didn't care for it? Then why was he so curious about it? He wasn't going to try and trick her into giving him the Shikon shards, was he?

            "So the Shikon no Tama is still broken," he mused to himself. "Tell me, Higurashi-san, do you plan on completing the Shikon no Tama?"

            "Why do you want to know?" Kagome asked, hoping her nervousness did not show in her voice. Apparently, Mr. Hayashi noticed.

            "Do not worry," he said reassuringly, "I do not want the jewel."

            "Then why are you so concerned about it?" Kagome asked, a hint of distrust in her voice.

            "I suppose you do have good reason to distrust me," he said thoughtfully. "Higurashi-san, have you noticed anything different about my grandson?" he asked suddenly, his question surprising Kagome.

            "Eh? Like what?" she asked, wondering why he didn't answer her question yet.

            "Do you sense his youki?" Mr. Hayashi asked. She shook her head, wondering what this was leading to.

            "It's because all his powers as a youkai have disappeared," Mr. Hayashi said, looking older all of a sudden.

            "Disappeared?" Kagome asked. She didn't know that youki could just disappear into thin air.

            "Yes. My grandson has no power to protect him from other youkai that may want to harm this family, even though he comes from a family of youkai," he explained, looking tired. "He is born into a world with the burdens of being a youkai, and yet cannot reap the benefits of being one. The rivalries and discord of youkai families have gone on for centuries, and this time period is no different. He must defend himself if rival families should decide to attack, but unfortunately, he will not have the power to survive in this world.

            "Right now, the families are balanced precariously in power, so none will attack unless they have a sure chance of victory. However, with the presence of the Shikon no Tama, or even a Shikon shard, that may all change. If one family gets even a piece of the jewel, it is likely that an all out war will break out between the families. If that should happen… Musashino will definitely die."

            "So that's why you want the jewel destroyed," Kagome said softly, more to herself than to Mr. Hayashi.

            "Yes, for if the Shikon no Tama did not exist, it would not give any one youkai supreme power, so the careful balance that has developed in these years will not be destroyed," Mr. Hayashi said, watching his grandson instruct Sango again.

            "I'm sorry, but I don't have all the Shikon shards," Kagome apologized, "so I can't destroy any part of it right now."

            "It's fine as it is," Mr. Hayashi said, turning to her. "As long as you keep the shards you do have from other youkai, I think everything will be fine. Of course it would be great if you could find the other shards and complete the jewel so that it can be destroyed, but I cannot ask that of you. You have your own life, and you're doing enough as it is protecting the pieces you do have." Kagome let the silence fall between them, thinking of the Shikon shard still locked in her drawer. Wouldn't youkai in this era feel the presence of the shard? Or did they wish to prevent an all out war, so did not try to obtain the piece of the Shikon no Tama yet?

            Thinking about the Shikon no Tama was giving her too many bad memories, and she looked up at Inuyasha, noticing that the sounds of the room were back again. Mr. Hayashi stood up and walked to Sango, telling her how impressed he was with her skills in the exercises.

            "It would almost seem as if this wasn't your first time with a sword," he remarked, slightly curious about the girl. Thankfully, he didn't ask any questions.

            "Musashino, I want you to have a little match with Sango," he said, sitting down next to Kagome again. "I want to see her level." Inuyasha nodded and picked up his own wooden sword. The match began.

            Inuyasha charged at Sango not very fast, and Sango easily blocked his attack. He kept on attacking her, and with each attack he started to get faster and faster until even Sango had a hard time keeping track of where he was. _And Sango's a youkai exterminator, too. Inuyasha, even though he has no youkai powers, he is still strong and fast. He's not as fast as he was in the Sengoku Jidai, but he is still fast for a person born in this time. Which reminds me…_

            "Ah, excuse me, Hayashi-san," Kagome said, hoping she wasn't interrupting Mr. Hayashi's observations of Sango. "But, how exactly did Inuyasha lose his youkai powers?" Kagome heard the sounds of the room drown out again. Mr. Hayashi had activated his barrier again.

            "I suppose telling you the story won't do any harm," he said. "Musashino lost his powers ever since kindergarten. I don't understand why many things happened, but I will try to give the best complete story that I have.

            "Because his parents decided that he should go to a human school like many other youkai his age, they put an illusion spell on him, so that he would seem to be a normal boy. Many youkai use this spell nowadays, including myself. My true form does not look like this. But, on with the story.

            "One day he just came home sick. His parents thought it was just a regular illness. Although it is rather unusual for a youkai to get sick, it does happen sometimes, so when Musashino got sick, they treated it like a normal illness. However… Each day he did not get any better. Eventually he became so sick that he wouldn't wake up. His parents decided to put the illusion spell on him so that they could take him to the hospital, but no matter how many times they tried the spell, his true form would still be there. They couldn't take him to the hospital, so they tried to use their youkai powers to heal him, but that didn't work either. It just left his parents drained of energy.

            "Finally, they called me to help Musashino. As an older youkai and grandfather to Musashino, I had the obligation and power to help my grandson. At first, I admit I was annoyed with my son and daughter-in-law for their inability to heal their own son, but when I tried to heal him, I understood why.

            "Musashino was sucking my youki when I tried to use it to heal him. All the illusion spells and all his parents' attempts to heal him could do nothing because he was absorbing the power in all those spells. Youkai use their youki to heal and create illusions, so the reason why his parents were so tired after trying to heal him was because he was draining them of their youki. Because he was absorbing the youki, the youki would not be able to do what it was supposed to do, which was why he couldn't get better.

            "Even though I knew why he couldn't get well, I still tried to heal him with my youki. But it only had the same result as his parents' attempts. So I decided that the healing spell was useless on Musashino, and as I pulled my youki away from him, he swallowed his own youki. Every last trace of his youki disappeared, and the next day he was well again. Except now he looked as he did with the illusion spell and his physical conditions became similar to that of a normal human.

            "I'm not sure where all that youki disappeared off to, but my theory is that Musashino had used all that youki unconsciously, and whatever he had wanted to do in his subconscious mind had required a vast measure of youki, so that when the task was completed, all the youki gathered was spent, which is why he is as he is."

            Kagome sat there, silent as Mr. Hayashi finished his story and let the barrier down, once again. She didn't know what to make of the tale; there were too many gaps and holes in it. She watched Sango spar with Inuyasha, their movements so fast that Mr. and Mrs. Yamata had trouble following them. Suddenly Sango thrust her wooden sword at Inuyasha. He ducked, avoiding it by a hair. In that moment, Kagome sensed something strange from him. It was almost as if though **he** was a Shikon shard. But as quickly as it came it disappeared.

            She frowned and noticed that both Miroku and Mr. Hayashi had noticed the strange thing that had just happened to Inuyasha, but nobody said a word. _I just felt the kehai of a Shikon shard from Inuyasha but the feeling was different from other shards that I have felt before. This feeling… It felt as if though the entire Inuyasha was a shard from the Shikon no Tama, but that's impossible!_

            She watched as Mr. Hayashi got up to stop the match between the two and congratulate Sango on her skills. Kagome saw that the reason Mr. Hayashi had stopped the match was because the two swords had clashed together a bit too strongly and had broken one of the swords in half. The half of the sword had flown off and nicked Inuyasha slightly on one cheek. Kagome thought she saw the blood glow slightly before it became red again, Inuyasha wiping the blood away with his hand. The blood came off red, and there was no trace that it had ever been glowing. Kagome wondered if she was starting to see things.

**Author's Note: **Hayashi means forest, I think. Musashino means weapon treasure (still not sure about this one). I took this name from the Rurouni Kenshin Movie (Musashino in the movie has the same voice as Inuyasha). Sorry, I just had to write this again because I think I deleted it from the other chapter in which I first mentioned this, and I just want everyone to know how talented Inuyasha's voice actor is. Did you also know that Shinichi from Detective Conan has Inuyasha's voice?


	19. Omori-Sensei

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Nineteen: Omori-Sensei**

            "I'm going to school now!" Kagome shouted as she headed out of the house, taking an umbrella with her. Outside, the sky was dark and the rain was coming down in torrents. She opened her umbrella and waited as Shippou and Souta each wore their raincoats. Souta opened an umbrella and he and Shippou walked under it, both trying to keep from getting wet. The group headed down the steps. Kagome saw someone walking on the sidewalk near the steps looking like a cream puff. The person had no umbrella, but had the hood of their raincoat up, and was walking with some difficulty for he had too many layers of clothes on. Kagome decided to help the person by offering to share the umbrella with them, so walked quickly down the steps.

            "Err, excuse me," Kagome said, trying to get the person's attention. The person's face was lost somewhere beneath the hood.

            "Huh? Kagome?"

            "Who are you?" Kagome asked, wondering how the stranger knew her name.

            "It's me, Inuyasha," he replied, pulling the hood back enough so that she could see his face.

            "Inuyasha? Why are you wearing so much?" Kagome asked, gesturing to her brother and Shippou to come quickly down the steps.

            "My mom," he grumbled.

            "Inuyasha!" Shippou cried out, trying to hug the Inuyasha beneath the layers of clothing.

            "Inuyasha no nii-chan?" Souta asked, walking next to them with his umbrella raised, trying to shield Shippou from the rain. "I thought that he—"

            "Ah," Kagome interrupted, closing Souta's mouth with her hand. "Inuyasha, I would like you to meet Souta. He's my brother."

            "Hi, Souta," he said in greeting, sounding a bit muffled by his hood and by Shippou, who was still trying to get a good grip on him in order to hug him. "What were you calling me before?"

            "Nothing!" Souta said a bit too loudly, realizing that he was not the Inuyasha from the Sengoku Jidai.

            "Okaay," Inuyasha responded. "Are you guys going to start walking? You're going to be late if you keep standing there."

            "Oh," Kagome said, "I was just wondering, would you like to share this umbrella with me?"

            "If I stood under that umbrella, I would squeeze you out, and you don't exactly have a raincoat on," he answered, starting to walk to school.

            "Oh," Kagome answered before following him. Souta kept on trying to see Inuyasha's face, and Shippou was trying to keep himself under the umbrella when Kagome saw a familiar scene: Sango slapping Miroku.

            "Sango-chan, what happened?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha helped Miroku out of the gutter.

            "That pervert tried to grope me!" Sango said, walking off to the school quickly with her umbrella.

            "I did not!" Miroku protested, putting the hood of the raincoat over his head. "I merely asked if she would share her umbrella with me. I had no idea that she would react so violently to so simple a request." Inuyasha was giving him shrewd looks. "What?" Miroku asked innocently.

            "You groped her," Inuyasha stated calmly, then left his friend there as he followed the girls to school. Souta and Shippou quickly ran after Inuyasha.

            "I was about to slip and fall. There was nothing to hold on to," Miroku grumbled to himself as he started to head for school again.

            Kagome and Sango entered the classroom before Inuyasha and Miroku, the warmth of the classroom a sharp contrast from the cold rain outside. Inuyasha was still taking off his numerous coats, and when Sango gave him a weird look when he took his third coat off, he simply said "mom."

            "Hey, Kagome," one of her friends called out to her. "Did you know Musashino is back again?"

            "She probably didn't," another one of her friends said. "You know she never pays much attention to guys."

            "But Musashino's so cute!" someone else said. "How can Kagome not notice such a hot guy?"

            At that moment, Inuyasha entered the classroom, his raincoat and other coats off, but he still had one jacket on and he was sweating slightly.

            "I guess he's hot literally," Kagome whispered to her friends. They just giggled in response.

            "Inu—err, Musashino," Sango said, correcting herself, "if you're hot, then just take off your jacket."

            "No!" he replied quickly, taking out his math binder and shifting through the numerous pieces of paper in it. Sango noticed that the stack of paper he took out were all homework.

            "Err, why is your homework not graded at all?" Kagome asked, looking at his papers. "And this assignment is from five months ago!"

            "Yeah, well, I had to finish nearly six months worth of assignments in three weeks, so forgive me if some of them haven't been graded yet," he said sarcastically.

            "What? Why?" Kagome asked. He scowled, and her friends suddenly pulled her away.

            "Musashino's been in the hospital because of a coma," one of her friends said.

            "Yeah, happened around the time you started getting sick," another injected.

            "He couldn't make up his assignments while he was in a coma, so he had to do his faster, otherwise the school will flunk him," Kagome's friend said. "I don't think he likes people to talk about the coma thing, though."

            Kagome blinked in shock at her friends' information, watching in awe as Inuyasha placed the stack of papers on the teacher's desk. She looked at his backpack and saw that it was bulging with the assignments from other subjects. _So that's why he looked like a puffball this morning. All the assignments on his back made him look so round, and the number of coats his mother piled on him were no help, either. And did he do **all** of his homework in **three weeks**?_

            Miroku arrived a few minutes before the late bell, smiling pleasantly at Sango and Kagome as if nothing had happened in the morning. Sango ignored him and took her seat. The bell rang, and soon, math class started.

            "I'm going to fail!" Kagome wailed during lunch, stabbing her food viciously with her chopsticks. "The test is this Friday, and I don't get the lesson at all!"

            "I'm sure we'll understand the material by this Friday," Sango said, trying to be reassuring, but she didn't sound too sure herself.

            "Should we ask Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, watching Inuyasha as he tutored Miroku while eating his lunch. Sango looked over there too, but her eyes became dark when she saw Miroku.

            "I'm sure Miroku won't do anything inappropriate when others are there," Kagome said, smiling nervously when Sango turned her glare on her. "Great! So I'll ask him right now," Kagome said, not waiting for a reply from Sango.

            She walked to where the boys were sitting and cleared her throat.

            "Ah, Inu—uh, Musashino," Kagome said, trying to get his attention. He turned to her. "Would you, err, that is, would you mind tutoring Sango-chan and I for the test? I know you don't really know us that well, because we've only met, like, what, two times? But would you please tutor us anyway?" She waited for his reply anxiously. If he said "no" she would have no where else to turn to for help.

            "Sure, why not?" he said, shrugging as if it was nothing. "I'm tutoring Miroku anyway, so tutoring you is no biggie."

            "Really?" Kagome asked, surprised by his answer. The Inuyasha she remembered would never help anyone willingly. _But he's not **that** Inuyasha_, she reminded herself.

            "Where? What time?"

            "How about my house? After school," suggested Kagome. Inuyasha nodded his agreement.

            "Okay, since your house is a little closer to school than mine is," he said. The end of the lunch bell rang, and Kagome thanked Inuyasha and headed back to her own table to collect her things.

            "I can't believe you just talked to Musashino!" her friends said as soon as she reached the table. "And we thought that you were a shy person!"

            "What are you talking about?" asked Kagome nervously.

            "So you're really dumping Hojo-kun for Musashino?" her friend asked. "Well, I have to say, Musashino is a better catch."

            "What?! It's not like that!" Kagome said, getting very red. "I just asked him to tutor me."

            "Sure," one of her friends winked.

"It's not like that!" Kagome shouted, getting all heads in the cafeteria to turn towards her. Her face became even redder, if that was possible. She quickly gathered her things and hurried to class, not waiting when Sango called out to her.

Sango finally caught up to her, and they both were about to enter the classroom together when a voice shouted out.

"Hey! It's the new history teacher," her friend said loudly, causing Kagome to jump. The three girls quickly rushed into the classroom, taking their seats and whispering to each other, leaving Sango and Kagome at the door. Snatches of comments of the teacher's looks reached Kagome's ears, and she decided to enter the classroom herself and see what her friends were fussing about. She never prepared herself for the sight before her.

"Se—Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked in shock. The silver haired teacher turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw her, but no other gesture of recognition was given. Kagome saw that he still had his hair long and was still wearing a kimono, but the strips on his face were missing and he had human ears. His customary armor and swords were missing, too.

"You will call me Omori-sensei," he said calmly, then pointed to her seat. She wondered how he knew where she sat until she saw the seating chart on the desk. She took her seat quietly, wondering why Sesshoumaru would appear in a school, teaching humans history. Sango looked suspiciously at Sesshoumaru, but took her seat quietly, too. Little by little the classroom started to get filled, and Kagome was growing increasingly nervous under Sesshoumaru's gaze. She could hear her friends busily chatting away on how cute the history teacher was.

"Onii-chan?!" a familiar voice asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?" Kagome turned her head towards the door and saw Inuyasha standing there, gaping. _Did Inuyasha remember Sesshoumaru from the past? Does Inuyasha remember now?_ Her hopes were dashed away when he suddenly ran to Sesshoumaru and hugged him tightly. Kagome felt her jaw hanging open, but she couldn't close it. _What on earth?_

"Don't hug me in public, Musashino," Sesshoumaru's cold voice rang out, but Kagome could see that he was smiling slightly. _Okay, what just happened here? Am I dreaming? Did I fall into the wrong world?_

"Hey! You never told me you were going to teach here," Inuyasha said accusingly.

"You never asked," Sesshoumaru replied calmly, ruffling Inuyasha's hair.

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested, batting Sesshoumaru's hand away.

"Get to your seat before I have to give you a tardy," Sesshoumaru said, getting out the attendance book.

"Feh! I don't care," Inuyasha said, but headed back to his seat anyway. Miroku arrived a few moments later.

"Eh? Sesshoumaru? You're teaching here?" he asked, just as surprised as Inuyasha.

"Go to your seat, Miroku, class is starting," the teacher replied, starting to write his name on the board. Miroku obeyed quickly. Kagome and Sango were still in shock as they watched the entire thing happen. Their confused eyes met each other, but neither were able to answer the other's questions.

"My name is Omori Sesshoumaru, but you **will** call me Omori-sensei," he said, his gaze falling on Kagome once more. "Does anyone have any questions about me before the class starts?"

"Yes!" Kagome's friend said, raising her hand high in the air.

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing a kimono to school?" she asked. Kagome sensed that her friend wanted to ask something else, but withered under Sesshoumaru's cold glare.

"I'm the history teacher, so in wearing the traditional costumes, I hope that you will have a better feel of history," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Any more questions?" The rest of the class were afraid to raise their hand, even if they did have a question. "Good." Then he promptly began the lesson.

Kagome had to admit that Sesshoumaru was a good history teacher, though it was probably because he lived through most of the things that occurred in the history books. He kept the class interesting, and even the students that usually fell asleep during history were awake for the entire lesson this time, although Kagome wasn't sure if that was because he was a good teacher, or if they were afraid of the new teacher's wrath. It had been weird to hear Sesshoumaru talk about things other than getting Tetsusaiga or killing Inuyasha, but overall it had been an enjoyable lesson.

Kagome stood by the school's gates, waiting for Inuyasha to come. He had said he needed to ask Sesshoumaru a few things, so would be delayed a bit. Finally he came.

"What took you so long?" Miroku asked, starting towards the Higurashi Shrine.

"Just had to ask Onii-chan to pick up Rin," Inuyasha replied, waiting for the girls to catch up to them.

"Who's Rin?" asked Sango, walking as far away from Miroku as possible. Kagome thought that it was a good thing the sun was out now, or else Miroku might have another excuse for groping. She felt kind of sorry for Inuyasha, who was holding all the coats from the morning and still wearing that one jacket that he refused to take off.

"Rin's my little sister," Inuyasha said, trying to see over all the coats he was carrying.

"You have a little sister?" Sango asked, surprised.

"Yup."

"And an older brother?" asked Kagome, wondering what other surprises this Inuyasha had.

"Actually, Sesshoumaru's not really my older brother," Inuyasha said. "I wish he was, though… But anyway, he's my dad's friend, and when I was born, my parents decided to make him my godfather, but as it turns out, I feel more comfortable calling him brother. Oh yeah, Rin calls him 'Onii-chan' also."

Kagome didn't know what to say to this. _It seems as if though Inuyasha really loves his former brother. And isn't Rin that little girl that followed Sesshoumaru around? This is just so strange. But it's also kind of…nice. It was nice to see Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha getting along together for once._

She watched as Inuyasha raced Miroku up the steps of shrine, taunting him all the way. She smiled to herself. _Even if they are not the same people that I met in the Sengoku Jidai, I feel happy to see them live like this. They actually look happy in this life._ Kagome felt the smile fall from her face. _Do I have the right to interrupt their life by forcing them to remember the past?_

**Author's Note: **"Omori" means big forest. Yay! Sesshoumaru finally appears! There'll be more of him later. Other characters that will definitely appear are Kaede, Myouga, Inuyasha's mother and father, and everyone's favorite character, Jaken (just kidding!).


	20. A Tutoring Session

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty: A Tutoring Session**

            Shippou was both happy and surprised when he saw Inuyasha at the shrine. As soon as he had seen Inuyasha, he had run down the stairs to greet him, followed by Souta. It seemed like Souta had greatly admired the past Inuyasha, and had used to call him "Inuyasha no nii-chan," which Shippou guiltily admitted to himself had made him slightly jealous. To think that Inuyasha would ever have tolerated someone to call him that! Shippou admitted that there were many things he did not know about his former protector, but that didn't make him any less surprised when he had first heard Souta say it this morning.

            Shippou watched from the stairs as the entire group entered the house. He heard Kagome quickly explain to her mother that the group was there for studying for the math test coming up. Suddenly he felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

            "Don't you have homework to do?" asked Inuyasha, still holding a million coats. "If you finish early, we might get to do something together before I have to head home."

            "Really?" Shippou asked, only mildly surprised. He was starting to get used to the differences between the old Inuyasha and the new one.

            "Do you promise, Inuyasha no—ah, um, Inu-nii-chan?" Souta asked excitedly, joining their conversation.

            "Sure, but that's only if you two finish your homework," he answered, trying to find a good place to hang up all the coats he was carrying. Mrs. Higurashi came and took the coats from him, smiling as she simply dumped them all on the sofa.

            "Dear, why don't you take your coat off?" asked Mrs. Higurashi, noticing that Inuyasha seemed a bit warm under his jacket.

            "No thanks," he said quickly, grinning nervously. Miroku's ears picked up his friend's nervous accent and decided to investigate.

            "Why not, Inuyasha?" he asked, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

            "Why what?" Inuyasha asked in false innocence.

            "You know, Inuyasha, it's not exactly healthy to wear a jacket when you're hot," Kagome said, wondering why he insisted on keeping that jacket on.

            "None of your business, woman," he said, scowling. Shippou saw the first signs of annoyance in Kagome. He prepared himself for the familiar fight that usually ensued.

            "What's wrong with you? It's just a stupid jacket!" Kagome said, hands on hips.

            "Feh! What do you know?" Inuyasha retorted. Shippou saw Kagome's face contort in the anger she usually reserved for Inuyasha. He wondered if Inuyasha would ever get the common sense to not fight with Kagome.

            "I'm just trying to show my concern for you!" Kagome shouted. Shippou saw Miroku and Sango slowly inch away from the two. Shippou decided to follow their example, along with Mrs. Higurashi and Souta.

            "What do I care about your concern?" scoffed Inuyasha haughtily. Shippou mentally heard a string snap in Kagome. And she did what she usually did when she was angry.

            "OSUWARI!" she shouted. Nothing happened. Inuyasha just looked at her in confusion, along with Miroku. Shippou noticed the confusion in Miroku's eyes quickly changed to something else, but he couldn't figure out what.

            "Oops. Eh, heh heh," Kagome laughed nervously, remembering that this wasn't the old Inuyasha. He had sure acted like him in that moment though.

            "Are you treating me like a dog because of my name?" asked Inuyasha, all confusion gone from his eyes.

            "No! Of course not!" Kagome said quickly. "I already told you I wouldn't make fun of your name."

            "Humph," he grunted, ignoring her excuse. He started to walk out of the door.

            "Where are you going?" asked Kagome, anger gone from her voice.

            "Home," he said simply.

            "You can't go now. I need you to tutor me," Kagome said, blocking his path. Shippou was reminded of times when Inuyasha prevented Kagome from going home.

            "Oh, so I'm just a dumb tool to you, eh?" he asked, irritated with her actions. Kagome was about to say something but stopped. She was probably reminded of times when Inuyasha had called her his "tama detector." Suddenly a slapping sound was heard from the other side of the room.

            "You should at least let me explain," Miroku said calmly, a red handprint on his face.

            "You don't need to explain," Sango said, walking to Kagome's side, "It's probably going to be a lie anyway."

            "No, honestly, I didn't know you were there next to me," he said as innocent as ever. There was a snort from Inuyasha. Miroku looked at him sharply.

            "Oh puh-lease," Inuyasha snorted, "you're always groping people when an opportunity arises."

            "How 'bout you?" Miroku retorted, "You always get touchy whenever you're embarrassed. It's the same thing!"

            "How is it the same thing?" Inuyasha shouted. Miroku looked at him shrewdly.

            "Wait a minute… You've been touchy ever since Kagome's mentioned your jacket," Miroku said, a grin starting on his face. "You normally don't care if someone makes fun of your name, but today…" He grinned evilly. "Your mom made you wear something embarrassing under that jacket, didn't she?" Inuyasha was looking very nervous right about now. Suddenly Miroku pounced on him.

            "Oi! Get off! What do you think you're doing?" yelled Inuyasha as Miroku started to pull at his jacket.

            "This doesn't exactly look right," Sango said, turning red. Shippou didn't know what she meant. Suddenly there was crash, and Shippou saw that Miroku had managed to yank the jacket off. The buttons of the jacket were barely attached to the jacket.

            "Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted. Shippou saw Inuyasha wearing a lumpy hand-knitted red sweater with something that looked like a dog on a branch and the words "Inuyasha" on it. Just below the name, he noticed that there was something written in a different language.

            "Uh, why does it say 'my dog-eared sonny-poo'?" asked Sango, reading the English easily. Inuyasha got very red. Miroku started laughing.

            "Oh, I get what this is about," Miroku laughed. Inuyasha was giving him death glares, but Miroku ignored him. "I remember the time she first called you that. Weren't you stuck in that tree 'cause you were too afraid to get down again? Oh I remember that day very well," Miroku said, grinning, "Picture this: little four year old Inuyasha tells me that he isn't afraid to climb any stupid trees, finds the tallest tree in the park and climbs it, climbs to the top before he realizes he doesn't know how to get down, and the adults can't get him down because the tree wasn't strong enough to support a full grown adult. They had to call the fire station and everything, but the ladder wasn't long enough, and finally his mom had to coax him down. And Inuyasha," said Miroku, grinning crazily at his friend's embarrassment, "didn't you need to go to the restroom?"

            "Miroku, you asshole!" Inuyasha yelled, chasing after Miroku as he quickly ran away. "You're going to **die**!!!"

            Miroku had run outside, and the people in the house heard some banging and laughter from Miroku, then cursing before everything quieted down. The two entered the house again, Inuyasha scowling terribly while dragging Miroku in, who seemed to be unconscious with several bumps on his head.

            "Let's get to studying before anything else interrupts us," Inuyasha said through gritted teeth, dumping Miroku on the floor. Kagome decided that it was a good idea.

            They had all decided to do their homework at the kitchen table because that was the only room with enough space to do their homework and accommodate all of them. Inuyasha finished his homework faster than the rest of them, despite his tutoring and helping them, and was soon wandering around the house, bored.

            "If only we had Literature homework," Miroku said under his breath while trying to solve a problem using the method that Inuyasha taught him. "Then he wouldn't be so cocky." 

Inuyasha re-entered the kitchen for the hundredth time and asked, "Are you guys done yet?" All he got in response were three sets of glares, and he decided to exit the kitchen again. Souta suddenly appeared next to him.

"I'm done with my homework," he announced, scaring Inuyasha for a moment.

"Don't sneak up on me," Inuyasha said gruffly.

"Shippou's not done yet, so how about I show you around the house first?" asked Souta. Inuyasha shrugged, and Souta started to pull him upstairs.

"See, this is the bathroom, and this is my sister's room," Souta said quickly, pulling Inuyasha into the room. He stood there as if waiting for a reaction from Inuyasha. He never got it.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the boy in confusion.

"Doesn't anything seem familiar to you?" asked Souta, sounding slightly disappointed.

"How can something be familiar if I've never seen it before?" asked Inuyasha. He thought the boy was acting a bit weird. Souta started showing him the different things in the room.

"See this alarm clock? My sister's other alarm clock was broken, remember? And how about this bottle?" Souta asked, holding up a small empty bottle. "This used to have the Shikon shards in them before they were combined. Here, I'll show you the Shikon shard that my sister has," Souta said, gesturing for Inuyasha to get closer. Inuyasha was starting to feel nervous. Souta tried to open the drawer where he had seen his sister put the shard in, but it was locked. "Don't worry, I know where the key is," Souta said, about to search for the key when Inuyasha stopped him.

"Don't," he said, looking slightly pale. "Just leave it." Souta looked at Inuyasha in confusion but nodded his assent.

"Inuyasha! I'm done with my homework!" Shippou announced loudly from downstairs. Inuyasha quickly went down the stairs, seemingly glad to be away from Kagome's room. The whole shrine was making him feel funny, and he had a feeling that it had nothing to do with him being a youkai. 

"Let's play with this airplane," Souta said, climbing down the stairs and holding an airplane that had Styrofoam wings and a cardboard body.

"Alright," Shippou said, "Let's go, Inuyasha." Shippou led him outside. "Want to see me do a cool trick?" Shippou asked. Without awaiting confirmation, he started to change his shape. Inuyasha watched in surprise as Shippou grew taller and his hair changed color. When the transformation was complete, Inuyasha found himself looking at a strange version of himself. Shippou now looked like him, except he had golden eyes and silver hair, along with curious dog-ears on the top of his head. Inuyasha felt uncomfortable looking at the image. He felt as if though some deep part of him was starting to move after a long sleep.

"Why did you transform?" asked Inuyasha, looking away from Shippou.

"This—this form is stronger," Shippou replied in a dejected voice. He wondered what was wrong with Inuyasha.

"So, now that you're stronger, O mighty kitsune, why don't you throw the plane?" asked Inuyasha, all smiles again. Shippou nodded, wondering if he had imagined that Inuyasha was acting funny. He threw the plane with all his might. The plane flew high into the air. Unfortunately, Shippou had miscalculated his strength, and he plane ended up getting stuck on top of the God tree. He heard Inuyasha whistle in awe.

"Hey, you're pretty strong," Inuyasha commented. Shippou blushed in embarrassment, then transformed himself back.

"Err, how are we going to get the plane down?" asked Souta, looking at his toy plane in worry.

"No fear," Inuyasha said in a false deep voice, "I shall save the day." Shippou gave him a funny look, but Inuyasha only grinned in response. Shippou heard the door of the house open and saw that Kagome, Sango, and Miroku had finished their homework and were walking outside just as Inuyasha walked near the God tree.

Inuyasha seemed to measure the height of the tree with his eye, and soon he jumped to the wall surrounding the shrine, and from there jumped on to the room where he jumped off and headed towards the trunk of the tree, kicking off from the trunk and catching one of the lower branches of the tree. He hoisted himself up and looked around until he found the plane. He had done everything very fast.

They all watched in silence as Inuyasha retrieved the plane and seemed to find something in the center of the top of the tree. He disappeared for a few moments, the branches hiding him from view, but reappeared moments later, jumping onto the roof softly, then jumping back to the ground. He had something in his hands other than the airplane. He walked to Souta, handing him the airplane so that he could free his other hand to better inspect the item that he had found.

"This sword is a rusted piece of junk," Inuyasha remarked, as he looked at the blade. "I wonder how long has it been left up there." The others, except for Miroku, immediately recognized the blade.

"Te-Tetsusaiga!" Kagome breathed softly. They were all surprised that the blade had been found in this time. Shippou sensed someone staring at them and turned around, only to find Miroku had that same expression on him from last time. Miroku's gaze was starting to make Shippou feel uncomfortable, even though Miroku wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Kagome with a calculating look in his eyes, which was really starting to creep Shippou out.

"Is it yours?" asked Inuyasha, breaking everyone out of their shock.

"No," Kagome answered, looking into Inuyasha's eyes. "I think you should keep it."

"Yeah, you found it, so you should keep it," Sango said. She hoped that with Tetsusaiga, some part of Inuyasha's past life would be remembered. He surprised her by refusing.

"I don't want this sword," he said, handing Kagome the sword. There was a determined look in his eyes. "You keep it. It was found on your property, so is rightfully yours. I just retrieved it for you." Sango noticed that Inuyasha seemed uneasy near the sword. He suddenly turned towards the house.

"Let's go, Miroku, it's getting late," said Inuyasha. He entered the house and retrieved his backpack and numerous coats, and headed towards the steps. Miroku followed his example.

"It has been a pleasure," Miroku said to them, bowing slightly. He didn't sound very sincere and he gave Kagome one sharp look before he left.

Kagome held Tetsusaiga in her hands. Miroku and Inuyasha were acting very strange, and their actions were confusing her.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to a review I got from Naatz, I realized that it is a bit difficult to keep track of which chapter is which, so I've put titles in each chapter to hopefully make it easier. I also wrote how many chapters I've uploaded in the summary, and hopefully this can prevent any confusion. If there are any other difficulties, please tell me!


	21. The Fortuneteller

Complete the Circle

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Fortuneteller**

            Miroku ate his dinner silently. His parents were still out working, so he had cooked his own dinner and now sat before the television, eating. Although the television was on, he wasn't really paying attention to what was going on within it. He spun his fork around in his spaghetti, his eyebrows creased in consternation.__

_            There's something wrong with Kagome and Sango_, he thought._ All right, let's review the facts. Kagome is a modern miko who has a lot of power and just happens to live with not one, but two youkai. I could feel the presence of another youkai in that house, even if the youkai never showed their face. But anyway, there's two youkai at her house. That kid, Shippou, should not have enough power to transform for so long, yet he can. Hmm, I wonder why… I wonder if that kid has a Shikon shard in him…nah. Those things only exist in legends. Then again, youkai are only supposed to exist in legends, too. Hmm, I'll have to leave that at a question mark._

_            Okay, now Sango. Comes from a family of youkai exterminators. That should explain any weird things about her, but it doesn't. I want to know how she was able to last against Inuyasha that long. If she were truly the beginner her father says she is, which I doubt, then she should have been knocked out of that match a long time ago. Plus, she's pretty violent. I've only known her for, what, a week? And she's already hitting me as if though she's known me her whole life. Strange girl._

_            How are they connected? Sango seemed to get pretty close to Kagome ever since that afternoon in the café. I wonder if something had happened after school to get them so close. One day they're strangers becoming friends, and the next day, they're best buds._

_            Now it's to the question of "why would a miko be friends with a youkai?" That question should be easy, but it's not. Let's see, why am I, the grandson of a priest, the friend of a youkai, if you can call him that? I knew him before I knew that youkai were bad, so that's how we became such good friends. Did the girl know the kid before—no, that's wrong. The kitsune looks younger than her. Then again, it's kind of hard to tell a youkai's age just by looking at them. Okay, so the relationship between the miko and the kitsune remains a mystery._

_            I wonder if Kagome's mother knows everything about her daughter? Does she know that her daughter is a miko? Or that there's two youkai under their roof? She never exactly said that she didn't know, but she didn't exactly say that she did know. Okay, I'm going to skip that question, too._

_            Oh, yes. Tetsusaiga. Wonder what it is. Is it the sword's name? Why was the sword up the tree anyway? And why was Inuyasha acting weird around the sword? I'll have to ask him later._

_            Which reminds me… Was Inuyasha's blood **glowing** on Sunday? _Miroku scooped another fork of noodles into his mouth. _Something definitely weird about him, but I can't exactly ask him. The guy's more clueless about this than I am._

_            Argh! What am I going to tell my grandfather? All I have are questions without answers. I have no hard-core evidence that anything is wrong. I should probably call him and tell him about this, but I don't want to worry him. He's sick enough without me making it worse. I'll call him once I get real facts._ Once Miroku reached his conclusion, he promptly finished his dinner and tried to put his mind at ease.

            Inuyasha sat in class that morning, not really listening to the teacher. He didn't really need to pay attention in class for a while; the teacher had given him a bit more homework than was supposed to, so Inuyasha had a few days worth of free time since he had already learned and did the homework for that class.

            Besides, even if he didn't have that excuse, Inuyasha still couldn't pay attention. His thoughts kept drifting back to Kagome and her family. Her blood brother was definitely acting weird the last time he was there. He kept on showing him stuff, and he kept looking at him as if though expecting him to remember something. Really, the kid was creeping him out. And what about Shippou? When the kid had transformed into that dog-eared guy… He didn't know what happened, but something did happen. He had felt something; it wasn't exactly a physical feeling, but… He didn't know what it was.

            Then there was that rusted sword on top of the tree. When he had saw it, warning bells kept going off in his head. He didn't know what powers that sword possessed, but he knew he didn't like it for some reason. And when he had gotten that sword, why did Kagome ask him to keep it? It wasn't like it belonged to him. At first, he had thought that such an ancient sword such as that one must have been important to the shrine, but then she contradicted his thoughts by offering it to him.

            And her room… The kid, Souta, kept on saying something about a Shikon shard, or something. What was up with that? And there was something in the room… He didn't know what it was, but he had really felt uncomfortable in that room. It had felt as if though something had been pulling at him in there.

            He brushed the thought aside and looked at Kagome. That girl… He didn't know if it was because she was a miko, but whenever he saw her, he felt this sense in him that told him to get away from her. Every time he was near her, something in him told him to stay away, while another part of him enjoyed her company and wanted to spend more time with her. What was wrong with him? Was he starting to go crazy?

            He felt something poking at his elbow and turned to see who was poking him. It was Miroku, and he was poking him with a rolled up piece of paper. Inuyasha took the paper and unrolled it, reading its contents.

            It read:

            _"Busy this afternoon. Sub for me in the kendo match. Not going to go to your house today."_

            Inuyasha crumpled the paper and stuffed it in his backpack. That stupid Miroku. Always so lazy and trying to cut out on his responsibilities in the kendo club. Really, he didn't know how he put up with him.

            Kagome talked excitedly with Sango as they walked home. The school had announced that the archery club was going to be starting again since they had finally found a supervisor that actually knew how to use a bow and arrow. Kagome was excited about the club; she hadn't shot an arrow ever since the battle with Naraku, and she was beginning to miss the feel of the arrow flying through the air. Sango had decided to join her in the club since she found out that Miroku was in the kendo club, and she didn't want to be groped by him when the club was in session.

            The conversation between the two girls soon halted when they both reached the steps to the shrine. Kagome had invited Sango to her house to do their homework together, and the two were going to visit a neighboring shrine later that afternoon for they had heard that there was a woman there who could read the future. They had decided to try the woman to see if any questions regarding Inuyasha or Miroku could be answered. They had little idea that they were being followed.

            Kagome looked at the woman anxiously as the woman looked closely at her. The woman had not asked for her palm, or her birthday, or anything like that, and had simply just stared at her ever since she had paid her the money.

            "Um, excuse me, but, are you going to say something?" asked Kagome, feeling like a fool before the dark haired lady. The woman simply held up a hand for silence and continued to stare at her.

            "Err, excuse Miss…?"

            "Kaede. The Lady Kaede," she said in a soft voice, never once blinking or taking her eyes off Kagome. Kagome was surprised by the name and silently scolded herself. She had to stop assuming anyone with the same name as those people she met in the past were the same people in the future. Although this woman did look like a very young version of Kaede-baa-chan. Finally, the woman blinked.

            "Beware of the friend you love and trust. Though their heart is true, they will fall prey to evil," she said in a misty voice. "The illusion of your enemy may turn out to be your greatest friend."

            "What?" Kagome blinked, not understanding anything the woman was saying.

            "The Heart of the Priestess shall aid you," the Lady Kaede said in reply.

            "What?" Kagome repeated, still not comprehending the first thing that the woman had said.

            "Listen, kid," the woman said in a rough voice suddenly. "If you want me to be more clear, you're going to have to cough up more dough. I can't give you clear descriptions with so little money." Kagome became angry with the woman's statement and stomped out of the room, cursing herself to be foolish enough to believe in fortunetellers. She looked for Sango, but couldn't find her to warn her about the fake fortuneteller. Kagome sighed and sat down at the steps of the shrine, watching people pass by, some with incense in their hands, and others who had fruits to offer to the gods. She sat there and waited for Sango to show up. Had the girl gone to the fortuneteller just as she rushed out?

            "So, Kaede-sama, can you see anything in my future?" asked Sango. She had paid the woman quite a lot of money and hoped that the woman could provide some useful information to her.

            "A man who is and yet is not a monk shall fall into the pattern as he did before," the woman said, seeming to gaze into a place beyond Sango. "His life is not in your hands, but in the hands of another. You love him, and you can rest assured for he loves you, too." Suddenly she frowned, marring her beautiful face. "A battle…you will lose." Sango felt her heart drop into her stomach at the woman's words. "But wait… A dream… You must win in the land of dreams. Do not be reckless. Wait for the Lady of the Souls…" Suddenly the woman leaned back in her chair, breathing heavily.

            "Is that all?" Sango asked, not quite sure if she wanted to hear more.

            "I can't seem to see your future as clearly as I do others," the Lady Kaede said. "It seems that your path can go two ways: one to your death and destruction, and another to life and happiness. Your life is so closely woven to three others that if one of them should fail, all of you will fail." Sango wondered if the woman was referring to Kagome, Miroku and Inuyasha.

            "Thank you, Kaede-sama," Sango said getting up and getting ready to leave when the woman stopped her and handed her something.

            "Take this," she said, handing her a beautiful flower that seemed as if though it were made of four separate flowers intertwined into one and frozen forever in life in some sort of clear hard sap. The rectangular block was no bigger than her hand.

            "What's this?" asked Sango, looking curiously at the multi-colored flower.

            "I call it the Flower of the Four Souls," Kaede said in a soft voice. "I don't know how, but it'll help you later. Please keep it with you at all times." Sango curled her fingers around the long block, feeling its coolness slip into her hand. She nodded her assent, then left the room.

            "So, we've finally completed our mission," an old voice said.

            "Yes, we have, Myouga-sama," the Lady said. "It's all up to them, now."

            Miroku found the two ladies he had been following chatting near the shrine. He heard snatches of their conversation: something about fortunetellers, battles, and dreams. When he realized he was getting nowhere just by spying on them, he decided to get his questions answered the direct way: he was going to ask them.

            He walked up to the two ladies, not even pretending that it was coincidence that brought them together. The two looked at him nervously.

            "I have a few questions that I would like to have answered," he stated simply. The two girls looked at each other, then to him. They were trying to smile, but weren't really doing a good job.

            "What can we do for you, Miroku?" Kagome asked.

            "First off, you can tell me what you are doing here," Miroku said, his face empty of emotion.

            "We're here to get our fortunes told," said Sango, looking at Miroku straight in the eye. If she had wanted him to flinch, she was sorely disappointed.

            "And what could be so important in your lives that you need to get your fortune told right now?" Miroku asked, his eyes cold and calculating.

            "We just had some free time after school and decided to come here," Kagome said, hoping her nervousness wasn't showing. Miroku didn't seem to believe her.

            "Tell me," Miroku interrupted before Kagome could go into the full deep version of why they came here, "have you heard of the legend of the Shikon no Tama?" Kagome and Sango nodded their heads slowly, wondering what this was leading up to. "Then I ask you, does the kid, Shippou, have at least a part of it?"

            "Yes," Kagome answered hesitantly.

            "So it does exist," Miroku muttered to himself. That would explain Shippou's power. "Tell me how it looks like."

            "If we answer all of these questions of yours, what do we get in return?" asked Sango before Kagome could answer.

            "What do you want in return?"

            "How about you have to help us in our cause," Sango said.

            "What cause?" Miroku asked, wondering what the girls were involved in.

            "The 'completing the Shikon no Tama' cause," Sango stated as if it were obvious.

            "Completing the Shikon no Tama?" wondered Miroku out loud, "Why do you want to complete it?"

            "The Shikon no Tama is too powerful and will upset the balance between youkai in this world," Kagome explained. "We need to complete it in order to make a good wish on it so that it will disappear."

            "So, you're just in this to get your wish, eh?" asked Miroku, not amused.

            "No," Kagome said. "I don't care about the wish. I would rather leave the Shikon no Tama as it is, but that's not possible. If we don't complete the Shikon no Tama and destroy it, Naraku may use the jewel to become full youkai, and then we'll really be in trouble."

            "Did you just say 'Naraku'?" asked Miroku, surprised.

            "Yes. Wha—?" But Kagome was never able to finish her question.

**Author's Note: **Kaede and Myouga make their appearance! Up next: "The Monk Who Remembered."


	22. The Monk Who Remembered

Complete the Circle

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Monk Who Remembered**

            People started screaming and some were busy taking their cameras out when they saw a scorpion grow bigger and bigger. The black poisonous scorpion finally grew to be the height of two grown men, then stopped growing and instead its tough outer armor burst off at some areas, revealing the pale skin underneath. The hard shell of its exoskeleton covered the length of the sharp poisonous tail and covered most of the body, leaving only the arms, neck, and face exposed. If one ignored the horrendous features of the body, one could almost claim the scorpion youkai to be beautiful.

            The youkai seemed to bathe in the attention that she was receiving from the people foolish enough not to run away, and waited patiently as the cameras clicked. Finally she turned to Kagome and Sango, anxiously licking her lips.

            "So you're the miko who possesses the shards of the Shikon no Tama," she said haughtily, addressing Kagome. "You're not much to look at." Kagome grew irritated with the youkai's statement.

            "Well you're no prize yourself," Kagome retorted, getting a lot of disagreement from the men that had still not run away.

            "Well, it'll be fun torturing you to find out the whereabouts of the Shikon shards," the scorpion youkai said, sounding bored. Suddenly she struck with her tail.

            "Kyaa!" screamed Kagome as she quickly rolled and dodged the sharp tail. She felt the hand of someone helping her up. It was Miroku.

            "Use your miko powers or you'll never beat this youkai," he said, keeping an eye on the scorpion. "Quickly."

            Kagome nodded her understanding, but she had no bow and arrows to shoot the youkai with. She had no time to search for them for the youkai struck again. This time, Kagome heard the sound of something melting and turned around only to see the debris on the ground being melted away by the poison. She offered a silent prayer to the God of this shrine, wishing that some sort of divine help would arrive.

            "Catch!" Kagome heard someone shout and saw the fortuneteller from before throwing her a bow and quiver full of arrows. Kagome caught it quickly and strung an arrow, aiming for the creature's heart. The youkai was no fool, and quickly blocked the incoming arrow by knocking it away with the tip of its tail. Kagome heard the sizzling sound of the tip of the youkai's tail being purified, but other than that, the youkai remained unharmed. It was just angry now.

            "Insolent human!" the youkai cried, shooting poison out of its tail, opting for a long range attack instead of getting closer to Kagome. Kagome tried to run, but found that her shirt was caught on a bit of debris left from the previous attacks. She shut her eyes, expecting to die, when nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw that the poison had disappeared. Her eyes searched for the reason and found Miroku, holding some sort of paper in his hand. He was somehow able to shoot the papers at the youkai, making it scream in agony. Kagome realized that these were real wards, not the fake ones that her grandfather always made.

            "You'll pay for this, Monk," the youkai screamed, trying to slash Miroku with one of its numerous legs.

            "I'm sorry, but I'm not a monk," Miroku said calmly. "Just your average human."

            At that moment, Sango burst out from the shrine, sporting a katana. She jumped onto the roof and from there, jumped to the scorpion's back, plunging the blade deep into the scorpion's armor.

            "Fool!" the youkai shouted, swatting Sango away with its tail. Sango hit the wall of the shrine very hard, clutching her ribs. She was gritting her teeth in pain. The scorpion youkai took the blade out of her back, throwing it away as her back immediately healed itself.

            "Give me the Shikon no Tama," the youkai commanded, heading towards Kagome again. Kagome finally managed to free herself and had an arrow ready to fire. She let the arrow fly, but her aim was off in her nervousness, ending up melting the youkai's right human arm off. The youkai let out a blood-curdling scream.

            "Hurry up and finish it off!" Miroku shouted, trying to paralyze the youkai with the wards. Kagome prepared another arrow, only to feel something flow past her, snapping her bow. She vaguely heard Miroku cussing as the youkai dived towards her, its mouth open as if to swallow her and whatever Shikon shards the youkai thought she had.

            "Kagome-sama!" she heard someone shout before she heard a strange ringing, as if something had been knocked against a steel blade, causing it to vibrate.

            He didn't know what had possessed him to call her "Kagome-sama," but in that moment, it had felt right. He had picked up the sword that Sango had probably jacked from the shrine, noticing that the blade was dull, but deciding to use it anyway. He had run to the scorpion, putting the spells his grandfather taught him into the blade, willing it to destroy the youkai before him. He had intended to bring the blade down upon the youkai's neck, but was blocked by the sharp needle that was the tail, causing the blade to vibrate and ring in the dusk.

            Although the blade flew uselessly out of his hands in the impact, he saw that it had at least chipped the youkai's poisonous tail, and the tail was not repairing itself. His grandfather's spell had worked. He had no time to rejoice, however, for the youkai immediately turned on him, anger flashing in her eyes for ruining her tail, forgetting about Kagome and the Shikon shards for the moment.

            The youkai grabbed Miroku's right hand in the only hand she had left over, and pinned him against the wall, his feet unable to touch the ground. He couldn't get away from the scorpion lady, and he couldn't exactly attack her for he had run out of spell papers.

            "A gift, 'Houshi-sama,'" the youkai hissed, "from my master." Then she stuck her tail into his right hand, digging a hole about one inch in radius in his hand. He didn't know if he screamed.

            Sango tried to get up to help Kagome and Miroku, but found that her ribs were giving her too much pain. She figured she had either cracked or broken them, but still tried to get up. The pain was starting to cloud her mind, and she could feel the beginnings of unconsciousness creep up on her. Her current body wasn't used to this kind of treatment and was failing on her. Suddenly her mind cleared when she heard a too familiar voice scream.

            She heard the sound of the youkai laughing as she hopped away from her handiwork quickly before the magic took effect. Sango got up painfully and saw Miroku leaning against the wall, clutching his hand in pain. She saw a trail of blood on the wall and immediately understood what had happened.

            Suddenly Miroku held his hand facing away from him, almost as if he remembered what was going to happen. Sure enough, the sounds of debris and concrete being sucked into the void were heard.

            Sango tried her best to keep her position, but found herself slowly getting sucked towards the void. She knew Miroku could point his hand no other direction without harming the buildings surrounding him and sucking up the people inside. She prepared herself to die by her friend's hand when all of a sudden, the vacuum from the air void stopped. She looked up painfully and saw that Kagome had run into the shrine and procured a set of prayer beads and was currently wrapping it around Miroku's hand. Disaster had been averted.

            He could feel the dull pain from the hole in his hand as he began to remember. Sango, Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippou, Kirara, Sesshoumaru and so many others began to surface in his mind again. Kagome, protector of the Shikon no Tama; Inuyasha, seeker of the Shikon no Tama and protector of Kagome, as well as many others; Shippou, orphaned child as the result of a fight over a Shikon shard; and Sango, the girl he loved whom he was currently sucking into his air void.

            He was never more thankful and resentful than when Kagome wrapped the prayer beads around his hand once more. He had lost. He was cursed again.

            He looked at the familiar sight of the prayer beads over his hand. How he hated it.

            He hated his past life. He had never been more glad than then, when he had died in the battlefield. Why was it that fate was bent on making him suffer? Hadn't he suffered enough in his past life? Now he had to suffer in this life, too?

            He clenched his fist, feeling the dull pain shoot through his nerves, the blood starting to flow out again.

            He was Miroku, the cursed monk once more.

            Kagome watched Miroku quietly as she heard the sound of the ambulance arriving. Many people, Sango included, had been hurt when the youkai had appeared, but none more than Miroku. She saw him clench his fist in anger, uncaring if his hand started bleeding again. He was the one who suffered the greatest injury in this battle, and the one who could never be healed by modern science. He was the one cursed to die.

            "Miroku…" Kagome whispered softly, wondering if he could hear her. She saw him close his eyes, trying to shut the world out. She didn't know what to do. She had met Miroku only after he received his air rip, and never really had to deal with him in this type of condition. Suddenly, he stood up and brushed himself off, getting blood on his clothes.

            "Kagome-sama," he said calmly, the mask of the past in place again. "We should probably leave before they try to take me to the hospital and I end up sucking up the entire building." She nodded, and followed him as he walked away from the shrine. Kagome stood a little way back as she saw him converse quietly with Sango, then set off again. She followed him in silence.

            Sango felt her heart twist in pain and tears well up at her eyes when she saw Miroku walking towards her. One look, and she knew he remembered. But now she wished he didn't need to remember. She wished he had never received his second air rip. The pain and dullness in his eyes were too much for her to bear. It hurt her more to see him like this than her ribs did. She saw him kneel down next to her and carefully wipe her tears away. For once, she knew for certain that Miroku wouldn't do anything inappropriate, but she wished that he would just so that the feeling of normality could return.

            "Sango…" he said quietly. She couldn't stand to look at the sadness in his eyes, and closed her eyes, starting to cry.

            "Sango," he said again, this time painfully. He lifted her chin so that she would look at him. She opened her eyes and regretted the calm despair she saw in his eyes. He may have had his memories back, but he wasn't using his knowledge to lock his emotions away like he used to. She started to cry harder.

            "It'll be okay, Sango," he said, afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her. "It's okay. We're together again." With that, he stood up and left, leaving her to the care of the people in the ambulance. She felt her tears begin to stop with his last words.

            _"We're together again."_

            So Miroku did care for her.

            She saw Kagome heading towards her but shook her head. She pointed to Miroku, and Kagome understood, following Miroku from a distance. She closed her eyes in fatigue.

            When Sango opened her eyes later, she was already in the hospital.


	23. Discussion of Pasts

Complete the Circle

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Discussion of Pasts**

            He walked on the near empty streets in silence, the lamps overhead being the only thing that guided him. He crossed roads without waiting for the signs to change, disregarding passing cars. He walked like a man sentenced to death, and in a way, he was.

            He knew that Kagome was following him, but he didn't care. What was the point? If he was to be cursed in every life that he was to live, then why didn't he just die now?

            He silently reprimanded himself for thinking such thoughts. What was wrong with him? He wasn't the suicidal type. Sure, he just got his second air rip again, but getting an air rip in his past life hadn't stopped him from living. Besides, dying right now would just go Naraku's way, and he would die before making Naraku happy. Wait, dying **would **make Naraku happy… Okay, that was just getting plain confusing. All in all, he would **not** die. If anyone was dying, it was going to be Naraku.

            He stopped in front of a nice, two story house. He was a bit surprised that his subconscious had brought him here, but he was grateful. He would need to clean himself up before he went home, and he was sure that Inuyasha's parents would better understand the situation than his own parents could. He debated with himself whether he should just sneak into Inuyasha's room and avoid any confrontation with Inuyasha's parents, but decided against it. After all, Inuyasha's mother **was** a dog youkai, and if he sneaked in and she smelled him, she would get **very** upset indeed.

            He rang the doorbell, hoping someone would open the door. Sometimes, Inuyasha's family just ignored anyone who was at the door, and other times, they didn't answer it because they didn't exactly look appropriate for the human world at that moment.

            Thankfully, though, he heard the sound of someone unlocking the door. The door opened and poured the light from inside the house onto the dark street outside.

            "Miroku-chan!" Inuyasha's mother cried out, surprised to find him there and even more surprised to find bloodstains on his clothes. "What happened? Come on in!" She quickly ushered him inside. He noticed she looked out onto the street for a moment before closing and locking the door behind her.

            Miroku could hear the sounds of two people giggling crazily from another room and peeked inside. Inuyasha was busy tickling Rin, who was rolling around on the ground, laughing while trying to get her brother back. At the sound of Miroku's approach, both stopped their attacks and looked at him in surprise.

            "Miroku?" asked Inuyasha, noticing the bloodstains on his clothes. "What the hell happened to you?"

            "How dare you speak like that?!" asked Inuyasha's mother, outraged that her son would use such dirty words.

            "Oops," cringed Inuyasha from his mother's wrath. "Heh heh," he laughed weakly.

            "I'll deal with **you** later," his mother threatened. "Miroku-chan, please follow me. Your hand is all bloody! What happened?"

            "I was attacked by a scorpion youkai," he said, proud that his voice had not wavered. So these memories of his did have some use.

            "Why?" asked Inuyasha's father, coming from the other room, frowning. "No one has any reason to attack you."

            "I don't know why," Miroku replied calmly, despite the stinging he felt as Inuyasha's mother tried to clean the wound without removing the prayer beads. He was thankful that she was smart enough to figure out that the beads were there for a reason and that he needn't explain why yet.

            "Why would someone attack Miroku-nii-chan for no good reason?" asked Rin innocently.

            "Because there are bastards out there who like to watch humans suffer," growled Inuyasha's father.

            "Hayashi Hikaru," warned Inuyasha's mother, "I will not allow you to speak such a way in front of the children!" He grumbled something about her nagging, which instantly earned him a very hard nudge in the stomach.

            "Miroku, are you sure you have no idea as to why you were attacked?" asked Inuyasha. Miroku was slightly surprised by the seriousness in Inuyasha's voice, but he shouldn't have been. With the flood of new memories, he had almost forgotten how this Inuyasha got when any hint of harm came to his friends. Of course, the Inuyasha from the past was equally as passionate about the safety of his companions as this Inuyasha, but the new Inuyasha was better at expressing his concerns.

            "I believe it might have something to do with the Shikon no Tama," Miroku said. He saw Mr. Hayashi frown and Mrs. Hayashi look surprised.

            "The Shikon no Tama?" asked Mr. Hayashi.

            "Why would a youkai attack you for the Shikon no Tama?" asked Mrs. Hayashi. "I thought youkai can't sense the jewel anymore. And why would they think **you** have the jewel?"

            "What's the Shikon no Tama?" asked Inuyasha and Rin in unison.

            "The Shikon no Tama is a jewel that can increase the powers of both humans and youkai," explained Miroku briefly.

            "How did you know?" asked Mr. Hayashi. "The jewel was shattered nearly five hundred years ago. I didn't think any humans still remembered the power of the jewel."

            "I asked someone," Miroku answered evasively. "Anyway, the youkai said she was searching for the jewel right before she attacked."

            "But what caused the youkai to think you had the jewel?" asked Mrs. Hayashi, frowning.

            "The youkai didn't think I had it," Miroku said. "She thought someone else did. I was just caught in the crossfire."

            "That's terrible!" exclaimed Mrs. Hayashi, while her husband interrupted.

            "Who did the youkai think had the jewel?" he asked.

            "A miko," Miroku said, trying to keep it brief and simple.

            "Do you mean Kagome?" asked Inuyasha.

            "Who's Kagome?" asked Rin.

            "Just a girl at school," answered Inuyasha.

            "A girl has the Shikon no Tama?" asked Mr. Hayashi.

            "Why are you wearing a necklace around your hand?" interrupted Rin.

            "Stop interrupting and let the boy explain!" shouted Mrs. Hayashi, scaring her family into silence. "Ahem. So, Miroku-chan, why don't you please explain to us what exactly happened?" Miroku took a deep breath and decided to keep the tale as short as possible. There were some things he wanted to discuss privately with Inuyasha's parents.

            "I was at a shrine and the miko, Kagome, was there also," he started. "Suddenly the scorpion youkai appeared and demanded the Shikon no Tama from Kagome. It then attacked her, and when I…interfered with the youkai's intentions, she gave me this," he said, holding up his right hand. "It is a curse. An air void that can suck in anything, and will one day swallow me into it, unless I can find and kill the one who gave me the curse." He lowered his hand.

            "But it's not sucking anything right now," commented Inuyasha, earning a glare from his mother.

            "That's because of the prayer beads," explained Miroku. "As long as I have the beads over the hole, it will not swallow anything. But even though the air void is rendered temporarily useless by the beads, it will continue to widen until I am dead."

            "So what are you going to do?" asked Mrs. Hayashi, worried for him.

            "I don't know yet," Miroku said, shaking his head. "I will definitely try to find the youkai who did this to me and try to break the spell, but somehow I don't think it's as simple as that."

            "What do you mean?" asked Inuyasha.

            "The youkai… Right before she gave me the air rip, she said that she was going to give me a gift from her master," Miroku said slowly. "Then she disappeared without even attempting to locate the Shikon no Tama."

            "So you think there is an ulterior motive to tonight's attack?" asked Mr. Hayashi.

            "I am most sure of it," Miroku said, but didn't explain why. He gave Mrs. Hayashi a meaningful look, and she understood him perfectly. _Smart woman_, Miroku thought to himself as she ordered her children to go to bed. They whined and begged, like usual, but in the end, the stubborn mother won, and her two children stomped off, pissed to be unable to listen to their parents and Miroku's conversation.

            "What is it that you wanted to discuss?" asked Mrs. Hayashi, her husband following her as she led them into the kitchen, then closed the door. _Must be to keep Rin from listening._ He had nearly forgot what excellent hearing Rin possessed. She was half dog youkai, after all.

            "I have reason to believe that the attack was issued by Naraku," Miroku started. He looked to the two adults for a reaction, but all he got was a gesture to continue. "I know this sounds really stupid, and you'll probably think I'm crazy, but…" He paused, unsure if he should tell them.

            "We won't think it's crazy," Mrs. Hayashi reassured him. Somehow, he took comfort in her words.

            "I remember stuff from my past life," he said. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi exchange looks. "In my past life, I was a monk who was cursed with a similar air void. I had received the air void as a hereditary curse from my father. He had gotten it from his father, who had been cursed by a youkai named Naraku."

            "I never liked Naraku," Mr. Hayashi said, but his wife told him to be quiet.

            "Anyway, later in my life, I began searching for the Shikon shards. I had known that Naraku would be seeking the power of the Shikon no Tama, just like any other youkai at that time, so I hoped to lure him out with the shards. Somewhere along my journey, I met up with a miko and a hanyou who were also searching for the shards. We joined forces, for it seemed that the hanyou also had some business to take care of that involved Naraku. With them traveled a young kitsune, whose parents had died. Then, a youkai exterminator also joined us. She did not care for the shards, other than the fact that the shards had come from her village. What she cared about was avenging the deaths of everyone in her village, including her family. They were killed indirectly by Naraku, so she joined us in hopes of carrying out her revenge."

            "Poor girl," Mrs. Hayashi said, sympathizing with the youkai exterminator.

            "What makes you think that what happened today involves Naraku?" asked Mr. Hayashi reasonably, though he looked like he was ready to believe the former monk.

            "Simple," said Miroku, "He knew from past experience that Kagome had the Shikon shards, which was why he attacked her, and he's the only youkai I know that would give me an air rip."

            "Kagome? How would he know Kagome has the shards?" asked Mrs. Hayashi, slightly confused.

            "Ah, that's right," Miroku said, smacking himself on the head with his good hand. "I forgot to mention. The miko who was searching for the shards… That was Kagome-sama."

            "What?" asked Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi in unison.

            "She came from this time to the past to complete the Shikon no Tama," Miroku explained. "She was dragged back in time by a youkai through a well, and ended up breaking the Shikon no Tama, which was why she was trying to complete it again."

            "Whoa, whoa," said Mr. Hayashi, rubbing his temples. "Are you saying a girl went back in time?"

            "Yes," Miroku said, slightly annoyed that Mr. Hayashi didn't quite believe him.

            "Tell me, Miroku," Mrs. Hayashi said, for once dropping the "-chan." She looked so sad. "Did everyone, except the miko, die?" He was surprised that she would ask such a thing.

            "Yes," Miroku said, stating the obvious, "If I didn't die, then how would I be here now?"

            "No, I mean, not die of old age," Mrs. Hayashi said, looking away from him. "Die in a battle."

            "Yes…" Miroku said, not sure what she was trying to say.

            "So that's what happened," she said in a low voice. Her husband walked up next to her and held her. "That's how my darling Inuyasha died."

            Miroku was startled by her words. "Darling Inuyasha?" What did she mean? Wasn't her Inuyasha currently upstairs sleeping? Unless…

            "I have my own confession to make," Mrs. Hayashi said, looking at Miroku once again.

            "We both do," Mr. Hayashi said. It was Miroku's turn to be confused.

            "I… I'm actually Inuyasha's mother," she said.

            "Of course you are," Miroku said, not quite understanding her meaning.

            "I mean, I was, I am Inuyasha's mother," she said, trying to get the boy before her to understand. "I was the human part of the hanyou that you spoke of. I was the mother of the Inuyasha that your past self knew."

            "Huh?" was all Miroku was able to get out. She was Inuyasha's mother? She was Inuyasha's mother's reincarnation?

            "You're probably wondering how I knew that the hanyou you were talking about was Inuyasha," she said, sitting down in a nearby chair. "I was always afraid that Inuyasha would hate himself because of his heritage, and I never really got a chance to teach him how to love himself." She rubbed her face in exhaustion. "I… I suspected that he would go after the Shikon no Tama. There were few back then that didn't know of the jewel's power, and I knew that he would one day seek it. I tried to prevent it from happening by shielding him from the hatred of the world, but… I failed. He was never able to accept himself, was he? That's why he sought the jewel. That's how he was killed."

            "Hayashi-san," Miroku started, unsure of how to comfort her. She was starting to cry.

            "It's my fault that he was killed," she sobbed, her husband holding her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "I wasn't there for my son when he needed me the most. I'm a failure as a mother. All I ever did was watch him suffer while I stood by as a ghost. I saw him suffering as he grew up, and I could never do a thing except watch in silence."

            "Tamako…" her husband said, smoothing her hair and hugging her tightly. "It's all right. You did what you could."

            "Oh really?" she asked, angry. "What about Sesshoumaru? I couldn't do a thing for him either. I failed both my sons."

            "What?" asked Miroku, shocked. "Sesshoumaru is your son?"

            "I suppose I forgot to tell you," Mrs. Hayashi said, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I not only remember one of my past lives, but two. I remember the time when I was a dog demon and met with my husband. We had Sesshoumaru, and I was so happy, but then I just had to get myself killed by a stupid youkai when Sesshoumaru was but a pup. Great mother I am. First I fail my first son by getting myself killed, and then when I finally met up with my husband again and had our second child, I get killed by some stupid illness and end up leaving my poor baby alone in the world again!"

            "It wasn't really your fault," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "Oh yeah?" snorted Mrs. Hayashi. "What do you know? You only died once!"

            "Wait a minute," interrupted Miroku. "You're the reincarnation of Sesshoumaru's mother also?"

            "Of course," said Mrs. Hayashi as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "How else do you think my husband and I were able to fall in love so quickly? I was only a human, after all, and winning Mr. Lord of the Western Lands' heart isn't exactly a piece of cake, you know. I had to have **some **sort of advantage."

            "Hold on," said Miroku, his head spinning. "From the way you keep saying things, are you saying that your current husband is the exact same husband you had for two of your previous lives?"

            "Of course I'm the one she's talking about," Mr. Hayashi said indignantly. "I would never allow another man to touch her!"

            "Don't be so possessive, dear," Mrs. Hayashi said playfully, poking him in the ribs. "You know that I could never fall in love with anyone else except you." Then they started flirting with each other, which really disturbed Miroku, even if he was a lecherous monk.

            "Ahem," Miroku interrupted, feeling a need to break them up. "Does Inuyasha, I mean the current Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru know about this?"

            "Oh, of course Inuyasha doesn't know," Mrs. Hayashi said.

            "But Sesshoumaru knows," Mr. Hayashi continued for his wife. "We told him when Musashino was born."

            "And how does **he** feel about all of this," Miroku muttered under his breath. If it were **he**, **his** head would be spinning after he heard this couples' tale.

            "Actually, he took it quite well," Mrs. Hayashi said. "That's my Sesshoumaru!"

            "How would you know if he took it well or not?" asked Mr. Hayashi. "The boy never lets an emotion slip out of his mask, except when dealing with the kids."

            "Oh, come now, don't you think I know my own son?" demanded Mrs. Hayashi.

            "How should I know? You died when he was just a pup. You said so yourself!"

            "Oh, now that's just low," growled Mrs. Hayashi. "How about you? You didn't exactly care for him very well after I left!"

            "That's because I was heartbroken until I met you again," huffed Mr. Hayashi indignantly.

            "Oh, so that excuses you from any responsibilities you had, eh?" asked Mrs. Hayashi scathingly.

            "Oi! That's not fair!" said Mr. Hayashi.

            "And then you just had to run off and die, didn't you?" stated Mrs. Hayashi, turning away from her husband. "Leave your poor family alone in the cold, hard world without a care. What kind of man are you?"

            "The kind of man that you love," said Mr. Hayashi, trying to get his wife's good humor back.

            "Why am I so stupid to fall in love with you in every life?" asked Mrs. Hayashi to no one in particular. "Honestly. It must be a curse."

            "Oi!"

            "Excuse me," Miroku said, feeling very out of place in the conversation. "But, is this going to lead to anywhere?"

            "Ah yes. I forgot all about you, dear," Mrs. Hayashi said, looking embarrassed. "So what do you plan on doing?"

            "I was hoping you could enlighten me," Miroku said, but at this point, he highly doubted that was going to happen.

            "This is a hard situation," Mr. Hayashi said. "By youkai law, we aren't allowed to go and kick Naraku's ass like we could back in the good old days."

            "Yes, there's a law that forbids a youkai attacking another youkai in a youkai's home, and don't say bad words, dear," Mrs. Hayashi said.

            "In order to kill someone nowadays, we need to register for a permit, and really, those permits take near a thousand years to process, and if I'm not mistaken, you'll be dead before the permit is given to us," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "You said that youkai can't attack another youkai in a youkai's house," Miroku said, a thought dawning on him. "What if I attacked him outside of someone's house? Like in a forest, perhaps?"

            "Good idea, but Naraku's not an idiot to go out walking in the forest for no good reason," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "But I can attack him there, right?" asked Miroku.

            "Of course! Even I can join you and attack him there, as long as the forest doesn't belong to any youkai," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "Then all I have to do is kill him in the forest," Miroku said to himself.

            "Impossible," Mrs. Hayashi said, dousing their hopes. "You're not powerful enough to take on Naraku."

            "What are you talking about, woman?" demanded Mr. Hayashi. "I'll have you know I used to be Lord of the Western Lands!"

            "Key word: 'used to be,'" Mrs. Hayashi said unsympathetically. "Right now you're just a sword youkai."

            "That's right!" Mr. Hayashi said, getting excited all of a sudden. "I'll ask Toutousai to make me a powerful sword to defeat that damn Naraku!"

            "You should say your great uncle. Be respectful," Mrs. Hayashi said. "And don't use dirty words."

            "Don't be such a nag," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "Who says I'm a nag?" demanded Mrs. Hayashi loudly. Then they promptly began bickering again. Miroku decided to leave. The couple weren't really helping him that much.

            "I'm leaving right now, okay?" he said, hoping they wouldn't notice him, therefore allowing him to leave. He didn't have such luck.

            "You can't go tonight!" Mrs. Hayashi said, turning to him. "What'll your parents say when they see you all bloody and that hole in your hand? You're staying right here tonight. I'll get you some of Inuyasha's clothes; they should fit you. You can sleep in the guest room as usual. I'll call your parents."

            "It's 'Musashino,' not 'Inuyasha,'" Mr. Hayashi said to his wife. "How many times do I have to tell you that its probably bad luck to name your sons the same name?"

            "I know my sons better than you do, and I can tell that Inuyasha has Inuyasha's soul!" she shouted at her husband. Miroku was getting confused by all this 'past Inuyasha' and 'present Inuyasha' thing.

            "How can you tell that he has the same soul?" shouted Mr. Hayashi back.

            "Mother's intuition," she said smugly.

            "You better quit while you're ahead," Miroku advised Mr. Hayashi, but he wasn't listening.

            "What if Inuyasha dies the same death as his past life, just because you named him 'Inuyasha' again?" asked Mr. Hayashi.

            "Ha! You called him 'Inuyasha,' not 'Musashino,'" Mrs. Hayashi said in triumph.

            "Damn!" cussed Mr. Hayashi.

            "That's it, I'm washing your mouth," Mrs. Hayashi said, dragging her husband to the bathroom. "Miroku-chan, take a quick shower upstairs and get some of Inuyasha's clothes. He won't mind."

            Miroku obediently headed upstairs as he heard some banging and cussing and gurgling coming from the bathroom downstairs. He was glad he hadn't made the mistake of using "bad words" in front of Mrs. Hayashi. That woman was scary.

**Author's Note:** A lighter chapter to balance the dark chapter before.

Hikaru means light, and Tamako is jewel or jade, or something.


	24. A Music Box

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: A Music Box**

            Kagome sat in the classroom, nervously tapping her fingers against the desk, waiting for Miroku and Inuyasha to show up. She had seen Miroku enter someone's house yesterday, but hadn't really known whose home it had been. He seemed to be in good hands, so she had left for her own house, still slightly worried about him. He wasn't exactly the cheery monk that she had met in the Sengoku Jidai.

            Suddenly the door to the classroom swung open, admitting two boys into the room. Inuyasha and Miroku quickly went to their seats just as the bell rang. Kagome wondered what had kept them today; Inuyasha hadn't walked to school with her like the previous two days.

            "Hey, why is Miroku and Musashino wearing prayer beads on their right hands?" Kagome heard one of her friends whisper to another.

            "Probably a new fashion that they cooked up," her friend whispered back. Kagome took a peek at Inuyasha's hand and discovered that he too was wearing prayer beads on his hand. She wondered why. She didn't have time to question him, for soon the teacher arrived and class started.

            Kagome met up with Miroku and Inuyasha during lunch. Sango was still in the hospital, so she would have no one to talk to during lunch except her friends, and she really couldn't talk to them about defeating Naraku and completing the Shikon no Tama.

            "Hey, Inuyasha, Miroku," Kagome greeted, swallowing the "-sama" that she usually attached to Miroku's name. "Would you mind if I sat with you guys?"

            "Go right ahead," Inuyasha said, moving his stuff to allow her space to sit with them. "But why aren't you sitting with your other friends?"

            "Ah, well," Kagome stuttered, unsure of how to reply him without giving too much away.

            "She probably just wants to appreciate how handsome we are," Miroku said, smiling innocently at her. She turned beet red, but was glad that at least Miroku wasn't acting as depressed as he was yesterday.

            "Idiot," Inuyasha muttered, but Miroku ignored him. "Oi, Kagome, I saw you on the news yesterday."

            "What?" asked Kagome, surprised. "When?"

            "It was on the ten o' clock news," Inuyasha said, the beads on his right hand clicking together as he opened his lunch. "You were really tiny in the picture, though."

            "What picture?" asked Kagome, wondering if the whole world saw her shooting the youkai yesterday.

            "The picture with that scorpion youkai that was wrecking the shrine," Inuyasha said calmly as if it were an everyday thing.

            "It seems that the people who were taking pictures of the youkai yesterday turned it in to the news station," Miroku said, sipping his drink. "The news reporters are having a field day over what happened yesterday. It's actually kind of funny. The scientists are busy trying to come up with a logical explanation as to what happened whereas the religious people are running around saying it's the end of the world."

            Kagome paled. What was she going to do if a reporter should come and question her?

            "Don't worry," Miroku said, seeming to read her mind. "No one was saying anything about how the youkai disappeared. No one suspects you, Sango, or I to have anything to do with the youkai at all. We were just innocent bystanders. There were enough people injured yesterday that we've just become another one of them. No special importance has been attached to us."

            Kagome sighed in relief, then realized that Inuyasha had been there the whole time, listening to Miroku's conversation. She opened her mouth to question if Inuyasha knew yet, but Miroku beat her to it.

            "Inuyasha knows everything that happened **yesterday**," he said, giving Kagome a hard look. She wondered for a moment what that look was supposed to stand for, and understood immediately when Miroku gestured discreetly, pointing to him then her, and shaking his head. So, Inuyasha didn't know that his friend had just remembered his past life. Kagome wondered if that was a good or bad thing.

            "Inuyasha, why don't you go get my textbooks for me?" asked Miroku.

            "Why the hell, erm, why should I?" Inuyasha asked, omitting the vulgar word just as a teacher walked by.

            "Because my hand hurts. Now go get it," Miroku said without batting an eye. Kagome expected Inuyasha to beat Miroku into a pulp for such a statement, but was surprised when Inuyasha got up and complied with Miroku's request.

            "Did Inuyasha just do you a favor?" asked Kagome, looking confused at Inuyasha's retreating back.

            "He's different in this life," Miroku said in a low voice. Kagome turned to him, her full attention on him. "He did not go through the hardships that he did in his past life. That is why he is… I suppose, kinder." He looked at her straight in the eye, his gaze unwavering. "As his best friend in this life, I am not sure if it is to his benefit for him to remember everything that happened then." Kagome fidgeted nervously.

            "I think we should discuss this with Sango," Kagome said uncomfortably. Miroku's gaze was creeping her out. She had seen him look this way at Naraku, but never at her.

            "I suppose we should," he sighed. Inuyasha soon returned with Miroku's books.

            "Don't know why you wanted me to get them," he grumbled as he sat down next to Miroku. "It's not like you're going to study during lunch or anything."

            "How do you know?" asked Miroku. Inuyasha snorted. Kagome heard the sounds of beads clicking as he moved the prayer beads on his hand.

            "That's right, why do you have prayer beads on your hand?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha couldn't have gotten an air rip too, could he?

            "Oh, these?" asked Inuyasha. "Just so Miroku won't feel lonely."

            "I do not feel lonely!" said Miroku in annoyance.

            "Yeah, whatever," Inuyasha replied. "To tell you the truth, it's so Miroku's prayer beads won't be as obvious. If both of us are wearing it, people will think it's one of those 'best friends' type of thing, and disregard the beads."

            "Oh," Kagome said. "I take it you already know about Miroku's air rip?"

            "Yeah." Kagome felt awkward talking to Inuyasha about something that he should have already known.

            "Listen, I'm going to visit Sango in the hospital this afternoon, so do any of you guys want to come with me?" asked Kagome.

            "Can't. I have to pick up Rin and then head to my grandfather's," Inuyasha said, poking at his food with his chopsticks.

            "I will be more than happy to accompany you on your journey," Miroku said, getting two very suspicious glares from his friends.

            "Right," Inuyasha said, turning to his food again.

            "What?!" asked Miroku, still trying to act as innocent as ever.

            Miroku, Kagome and Inuyasha exited the gates of the school, Miroku and Kagome heading one direction, and Inuyasha heading the other. Suddenly Kagome stopped and ran back towards Inuyasha.

            "Sorry, Miroku-sam-err-san," Kagome said, correcting herself. "I have to ask Inuyasha to take my brother and Shippou home, too. I'll catch up with you later." Miroku saw her run off towards Inuyasha who was already across the crosswalk. It would take Kagome some time before she could join up with him again, so he decided to go visit Sango first.

            He walked the streets, absentmindedly looking in at shop windows. Suddenly he saw something that caught his eye. It was a tiny music box about as big as the length of his thumb. Tiny jewels and pearls decorated the top, and the inside was lined with red velvet. He walked into the shop, listening to the bell ringing from somewhere in the depths of the small store.

            A woman with black hair and wise, intelligent eyes walked out, greeting him with a smile. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that this person was a young version of Kaede-sama. She was probably around her late twenties.

            "Welcome, sir, and how may I help you?" she asked in a smooth voice.

            "I would like to know how much the music box in the display window costs," Miroku said, taking out his wallet.

            "Oh, that old thing? It's been sitting there for ages and no one has even taken the slightest interest in it," the woman said, walking to the window and taking the music box. "Though I don't know why. You will notice that the box is decorated with real jewels, not made of plastic or glass," she said, turning the music box around. "And if you look carefully enough, you can see small carvings all over the box. A masterpiece, really, so I can't offer it to you for less than 2,400 yen."

            Miroku looked into his wallet, taking care to not let the salesperson see the amount he had in it. He only had 1,800 yen.

            "Aw man," he said out loud, his business mind starting to whirl into motion. "I only have 1,200." He saw the salesperson look shrewdly at him, but the expression was replaced with a smile.

            "I can lower the price to 1,900, but that's as low as I can go," she said.

            "Well, I only have 1,200, so I still can't buy it at all," Miroku said in false despair. "Oh well. I'll just go now." He walked to the door slowly. _Three, two, one…****_

****"Wait!" the woman cried out, running to him.

            "Yes?" he questioned innocently.

            "1,200, right?" she asked, relenting her earlier price. "I can sell it for at least that."

            "Oh goody!" Miroku said happily, and waited patiently as the woman wrapped up the music box.

            He walked down the hallway, looking for Sango's room. Even with his little detour, Kagome would still not have arrived yet, which gave him a few moments alone with Sango. He was thankful of his present life for this small comfort. Back in the Sengoku Jidai, they were always off slaying youkai, or chasing after Naraku or a rumored shard so that they never really did have a few peaceful moments together. Well, now that he was presented the moment, he was going to use it. He hadn't been lying to Kagome when he said that it would be his pleasure to visit Sango.

            He found the door to her room and entered carefully, tiptoeing so as not to disturb her rest. He shut the door quietly behind him.

            "I know you're there, Houshi-sama, so don't bother trying to hide your presence," Sango said.

            "Ah, Sango, what a pleasure it is to see you," Miroku said, smiling. Sango regarded him warily, wondering what was going through that mind of his.

            "What are you doing here?" Sango asked, trying to appear nonchalant about his visit.

            "Why, to visit you, Sango," he said, taking a seat near her. He could feel her senses go on alert against him._ Ah, why must people always assume the worst of me?_

            He felt around his coat pocket for the package, and took it out and gave it to Sango. The salesperson had done a good job wrapping it.

            "A little get well present, shall we say?" said Miroku as he watched Sango unwrap the gift carefully. He heard her gasp softly as she saw the tiny music box.

            "It's so pretty," Sango breathed as she opened the box and listened to the soft tune playing. He saw her holding the gift carefully, almost as if she were afraid it would break. Did she care about him that much to treat his gifts with such tenderness?

            He saw her finger the bottom of the box and look puzzled, closing the box and turning it over. He saw Sango blush right as Kagome entered the room. He wondered why.

            "Sango-chan, do you feel better?" asked Kagome, dragging up another chair to sit next to her friend.

            "Much better. Hayashi-sensei visited me earlier today and gave me some weird herbs," Sango said, putting the music box on the table next to her. "He said that they were pretty rare and speeded up the healing process, so I'll probably be out soon."

            "That's great," Kagome said in relief. The three of them sat in silence, none of them really wanting to bring up the immediate problem. But finally, Miroku spoke.

            "I think we should discuss the problem at hand," he said calmly, his mask slipping into place.

            "Yeah. Does anyone have any idea of what's going on?" asked Kagome.

            "I went to Inuyasha's house yesterday and talked to his parents," Miroku said. "There are some things we discussed that I thought might be of interest. One is that Inuyasha's mother mentioned that youkai nowadays cannot sense the Shikon no Tama, which would mean that the attack last night was planned. I think we all have our own suspicions as to who planned the attack."

            "Naraku," Sango said, her eyes narrowing in anger.

            "The other is that youkai can't just recklessly attack other youkai, especially in a youkai's home," Miroku said. "That means that there are at least some safe grounds that we can take shelter in."

            "But can humans attack youkai anywhere?" asked Kagome.

            "I don't know. Probably," Miroku said. "But if we don't get more help, our power alone is not sufficient to defeat Naraku."

            "So let's get some youkai's help," Sango said, stating the obvious. Miroku shifted uncomfortably.

            "Who are we supposed to ask? Inuyasha's family?" asked Kagome.

            "It will be difficult to get the adults involved," Miroku said. "Inuyasha's father told me that in order to kill a youkai, you need to register for a permit, and those take a long time to process."

            "So that means that if an adult youkai gets caught in our plan to defeat Naraku, they may get punished for it?" asked Kagome, frowning.

            "Exactly," said Miroku.

            "That means that the only youkai we can get on our side are Shippou and Inuyasha, since they're probably still minors in youkai law, so won't be punished as severely, if at all," Sango said thoughtfully. She frowned. "I don't know about you, but I think something is wrong with Inuyasha…"

            "That's what we really wanted to discuss with you," Kagome said. "I don't know if Inuyasha will be of much help to us because frankly, he doesn't even have any youkai powers."

            "No wonder he feels so…human, I guess, while his grandfather is practically shouting 'youkai!'" Sango said.

            "And there lies our problem," Kagome said. "Should we include Inuyasha in our plans?" The group fell silent, each weighing the pros and cons of leaving or keeping Inuyasha.

            "If he remembers, then maybe his powers will return also," Sango said slowly, testing the waters on this situation. She could tell that Miroku didn't exactly like the idea.

            "Is it worth the price of victory to let him live as he was?" asked Miroku quietly. _I don't know about Inuyasha, but knowing what happened in my past life has brought me nothing but grief, and my personality's almost the same as the one in the past. It's different with Inuyasha. In his past life he had no one, but in this life, he is flocked by his family members. His personality is drastically different, so if he remembered how he was in the past, how would he act from then on? Would he act as he did back then, or would he act as he is now?_

            "We don't have to get him to remember," said Sango. "All we have to do is just tell him what happened in our past lives and allow him to decide whether or not he wants to join us."

            "But what are we supposed to say to him?" asked Miroku. "Hello, Inuyasha. Did you know that you used to be in a group that was bent on destroying Naraku? Oh, by the way, I used to be a monk, and Sango here used to be the best youkai exterminator, and did I mention that Kagome used to be a powerful miko that wants to kill you for betraying her?"

            "Well, you don't have to put it that way," Sango muttered.

            "And what's the point of telling him this when he doesn't even have any youkai powers that can help us?" continued Miroku. "You said so yourself. He needs his powers in order for us to even stand a chance against Naraku, and for that to even have a slight chance of happening, he needs to have his memories back."

            "So maybe we should try to get him to remember," Kagome said. Miroku noted that she sounded slightly guilty. He figured it was because she had an inkling that he wasn't exactly happy to have received his memories back.

            "Kagome, how would you feel if you were just living your merry life one day and boom! Suddenly you hate Inuyasha with all your guts because he's the one that caused you to die?" asked Miroku, a stony expression on his face.

            "Well…I…"

            "Not exactly comforting, is it?" asked Miroku scathingly. "And how will Inuyasha feel? Can't you see he's happy as he is? Do you want him to remember what happened to his past? He may have never told us of those years he spent alone, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that those years weren't exactly his 'golden years!'"

            "What would you have us do?" asked Sango, getting slightly angry with the monk's statements. "You know the longer we wait to tell Inuyasha, the more danger he might be in. We made that mistake with you, and it gave you the hole you have in your hand. If we don't tell Inuyasha, who knows what might happen? What if Naraku gets to him first?"

            The two of them sat in silence, glaring at each other. If looks could kill, they would both be a pile of ash by now.

            "So the question is whether to sacrifice Inuyasha's happiness for his safety, or to let him live in contentment, but in danger," Kagome said, interrupting Sango and Miroku's glaring contest.

            "That's obvious," Sango said, turning away from Miroku. "His safety is most important."

            "What is the use of being alive if you can't be happy?" asked Miroku, crossing his arms stubbornly. Silence elapsed for a few minutes before Miroku turned to Kagome. "Kagome-sama, what do you think we should decide to do?"

            "I'm not really in the position to say anything," Kagome said nervously. Both Sango and Miroku raised their eyebrows at her statement.

            "What do you mean?" asked Sango.

            "Well…" Kagome started. "If you were me, what would you do? Inuyasha's my friend, and to get him to remember the past would be like bringing the dead back to life." She started to play with the corner of the sheet on Sango's bed. "And heaven knows how much I want him back," she said. "But… If I bring the old Inuyasha back, where will the new one go? To force two personalities that are so different to be in one person is like putting fire and water together. One will have to douse the other. One of Inuyasha's personalities will have to leave, and am I really in a position to choose who gets to live and who gets to die? Can I make an opinion that is not influenced by my emotions? Can I really say that one personality is better than the other?"

            "I see," Miroku stated. Silence descended upon them again.

            "Maybe we should wait," Kagome started, but Sango cut her off.

            "We can't wait. That's what we did with Miroku, and look what he has to show for it," Sango said reasonably, though in a hard, firm voice. "We have no idea where Naraku is, and in this new era, we really don't know what he's capable of. He's had the last five hundred years to cook up a nice, tasty plan to get all our gooses cooked, while we've only had a couple of weeks!"

            "We've never really known what Naraku's up to, and we still survived, err, in a sense, that is," Miroku said, realizing that he had fumbled up his words.

            "You know…" Kagome started, but then paused, thinking. "You said that youkai can't sense the Shikon no Tama anymore, right?" Miroku nodded his head. "Well, we know that Naraku is probably still after the Shikon no Tama, but he can't sense it like he used to, which means that all we have to do is keep the Shikon shards hidden until we can figure something out."

            "Naraku probably has spies everywhere," Sango said.

            "No, he doesn't," Miroku said. "He can't put spies around here because this isn't his territory."

            "What are you talking about?" asked Sango and Kagome simultaneously.

            "Oh, I forgot you didn't know," Miroku said, smiling sheepishly. "The Naraku that we all just **love** has become more than a false human lord now; he's become a real youkai lord."

            "Meaning?" asked Sango.

            "He controls some lands, too," Miroku said. "Just like Inuyasha's grandfather controls the lands in this city, Naraku controls some lands elsewhere. You see, after there was no Lord of the Western Lands, the people who served under the lord divided the land up among themselves, each ruling their own territory until someone claims to be the new Lord."

            "Wait a minute," interrupted Kagome. "Wasn't Inuyasha's father the Lord of the Western Lands? Wouldn't that make Sesshoumaru the…?"

            "New lord?" finished Miroku. "Yes it would, if Sesshoumaru actually accepted the position."

            "You mean he declined?" asked Sango incredulously. "For what reason?"

            "Nobody except Sesshoumaru himself knows," answered Miroku.

            "Okay, back to the original topic," said Kagome, steering them back on track. "You said Naraku doesn't have spies here, right?"

            "Correct, and it would be very unwise of him to attack anywhere in this city because of Inuyasha's grandfather," Miroku said. "It's a political thing between youkai."

            "Right," Kagome and Sango replied.

            "So we're safe, for now," Miroku said. He could feel that Sango and Kagome were going to drop their previous discussion about Inuyasha. Even though the problem was far from resolved, none of them really felt like getting into a fight over the issue.

            "Oh! Sango-chan, I almost forgot," said Kagome as she dug through her backpack for something. "Here's today's assignments from school."

            "Oh, thanks," said Sango.

            "Here, I'll tell you what you're supposed to do," said Kagome as she started instructing Sango on the assignments. Miroku looked over to the table next to Sango and spotted the music box again. He lifted the box up and looked on the bottom, wondering what it was that Sango had seen.

            The words: "To the one I love forever" were carved on the bottom. He turned as red as a tomato, wondering why he had never noticed those words before. Not that he was denying or complaining about them, but still…he had wished that he had known beforehand.

            He looked over to Sango and mentally let out a sigh as he saw her beautiful long hair fall across her shoulders as she spoke with Kagome. Even if he had known the words were on the bottom of the music box, he still would have given it to Sango. After all, those words expressed what he couldn't bring himself to say to Sango.

            He decided to leave before the girls could notice his red face and berate him for his sighing. They would probably misunderstand him again. Honestly, he wasn't always filled with perverted thoughts. He got up and pushed the chair back.

            "I'll be going now," he said quickly, and headed towards the door before the girls to see his face. He could still feel the heat radiating off his cheeks, although he didn't understand why. He had done more forward things than giving a music box that declared one's love to another, so why was he getting embarrassed over this? Sometimes, he couldn't figure himself out.

            "See you later, Miroku-sama," Kagome said out of habit.

            "Thank you…" Sango said, at first quietly, then a bit louder. "Thank you for the present…Miroku."

            He could feel himself blushing like crazy. _Why am I even blushing? It's not like she said anything important… Only that she stopped calling me "Houshi-sama." But that doesn't even mean anything, right?_ But he couldn't fool himself. Sango had called him by his name, which meant that at least one barrier between them had fallen.

            She didn't understand why her master was so interested in this boy. He didn't even have any youki. He was just like the other humans, as far as she was concerned, but her master thought differently.

            She saw her target ahead, walking with a little girl. Probably his sister. She walked quickly past the boy, "accidentally" knocking him down onto the ground.

            "Hey! Watch where you're going!" she heard him shout. But she paid him no heed. She had gotten what she had wanted.

**Author's Note:** I think that one US dollar is equal to 120 yen, so the music box's original price was $20 and Miroku only had $15, but he only paid $10 for it. Yeah, I think my math is right. 

For some reason the chapters get longer and longer… But oh well. Up next: "Possession." The title's pretty obvious, isn't it?

I saw the English version of Inuyasha! The translation was good, considering that they have to make the meaning near the same and still appeal to English audiences. Some things they translated differently were: 1.) "Sankon Tetsusou" has become "soul stealer" I think and 2.) "Shikon no Tama" has become the "sacred jewel." I think they mentioned the name "Shikon no Tama" once in the English version. Richard Cox (voice of Inuyasha) is very good (of course Japanese is always better, but this time, he really IS good). The worst voice actor there was Kaede. She sounded like she was just taking a walk in the park throughout the serious parts. Kagome and Kikyo were bearable, but not the best. They both don't have enough emotions packed into their voices, but it was okay. Thing that really annoyed me was how they pronounced their names. "Ka-go-may," "Ki-ki-o" and "Ka-ay-day" were just a bit weird to my ears. But seriously, if I didn't watch the Japanese version, I would find Inuyasha to be very enjoyable. (By the way, they didn't change the opening and ending themes.) Did I mention that the centipede lady is flat in the English version?

So, if you watched the English version, tell me what you think! I found it to be very good. They didn't mangle it as bad as I had originally thought!

(My sister hates the English version, though. Can't imagine why. The only person she tolerates is Inuyasha, which must mean that Inuyasha is GOOD!)

(Oh yeah, she just said Sesshoumaru better be good or she'll kill someone.)

See ya!


	25. Possession

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Possession**

            He exited the school, calmly walking to the car where Jaken was waiting for him. He wondered briefly what caused the old youkai to even stay with him this long, but he wasn't complaining. Heaven knew that his solitary quest to be the strongest, to be the best, to be better than his father were things that drove friends away. A youkai can only endure so long supporting a friend's endless quest before they left.

            "Sesshoumaru-sama," croaked the age old youkai. "To Hayashi-sama's, correct?" Sesshoumaru nodded in reply as he got into the car. There were some things that he wished to discuss with the man who used to be a lord under his father.

            He watched the scenery around him pass by and his mind began to drift. When was the last time that he had had a true friend? That's right, before Hikaru met his wife. He couldn't believe it when Hikaru had told him that he was the reincarnation of his father, and that his wife was the reincarnation of his mother.

            He remembered the day they told him. Musashino had been born, and he nearly let an emotion slip out when he first saw the child. The child's soft silver hair and pale dog like ears reminded him too much of his hanyou half-brother who had died near five hundred years ago. And it didn't help to have Tamako whisper the name "Inuyasha" as soon as she had seen him.

            He propped his head up with one hand, still looking out of the window. Inuyasha… A half-brother that displayed great emotions of adoration to him when he was still a child, yet seemed to forever hate him when he was a teen. He had felt uncomfortable around the small child Musashino for the first few months, but for some reason or another, the little Musashino insisted on seeking him out as a playmate. He had to admit, those were the most embarrassing times of his life, but he wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world. He felt a smile sneak into his face as he remembered that Musashino always wanted to have a piggyback ride on him. He hated to admit it to others, but he always felt himself feel happy whenever he got the chance to play with him.

            His felt his smile leave when he remembered that as a child, Inuyasha had acted the exact same way towards him, too. He couldn't get rid of the hanyou whenever he was at his father's house. Back then, he had despised the small child, and had tried his best to stay away from the boy's tainted blood. But as time wore on, he grew slightly fond of the child, but he was never able to do anything about it for soon his father died, and his father's wife and child were hidden away from those that would do them harm.

            Sesshoumaru knew that his father's wife had returned to her father's castle, but never went to find them. He had his own problems then. His father's lords were starting to bicker among themselves about who was to be the ruler while the heir was still too young for the job. Sesshoumaru had felt indignant at their comments, but refrained from killing them, and decided to go on a quest to search for more power. He remembered that Hayashi-sama had told him to not worry about his power and take the role of Lord, but he had refused the old man's advice. They were right. If he was ever to be half the ruler his father was, he would have to be as strong as his father.

            So he spent over a decade looking for power, losing friends and allies because he lost contact with them, until finally the only one left was Jaken. He had heard that his stepmother had died long ago, leaving her small son alone in the world, but had never really gone out to look for his half-brother. At times, he had felt guilty for abandoning his half-brother, but he had always managed to convince himself it was for the best. It was hard enough acquiring enough power to convince the lords he was capable of ruling, much less running around frolicking with a hanyou.

            So when he had heard that his brother had been killed, he had been more than shocked. Someone with the blood of his father, even if it was tainted by a human's, should have never been killed while they were still so young. He had rushed to the place where Inuyasha was rumored to have been killed, and was shocked once again with what he saw.

            His half-brother was pinned to a great God tree, his expression peaceful in death. He had cared for Inuyasha, even if he had never really shown it that well, and to see his brother look so peaceful in death hurt him more than words could. To think that his brother was so tired of his life that he sought peace in death was something that pained Sesshoumaru. For the first time since he left Inuyasha, he felt that perhaps he should have done things differently. Perhaps he should have found Inuyasha while he was still a child. Screw the council and the lords. His brother was more important to him than the position as a lord. It was something that Sesshoumaru realized too late.

            But he wasn't an unreasonable type. His brother had died, but that didn't mean that he had to end his life, too. So he began his quest for power with renewed vigor. This time, he would not settle for being equal to his father. This time, he must surpass his father. He would not make the same mistake that his father made by going soft on his subjects. If there was one fault that his father had, it was that he was too soft. His sympathy for others was the root cause of his own death as well as the deaths of his wife and son. Had he ruled with an iron fist, perhaps his human wife and hanyou son would never have had to run away and hide from his subjects for fear of being killed, and perhaps the dragon would not have been able to even come close to injuring him. Had he been colder, then perhaps he never would have had the problem of having a human wife.

            So for fifty years he searched for power, until finally he heard of a treasure sword that his father had had. Tetsusaiga, a sword that could kill a hundred youkai in one swing. Surely if he had that sword, he would be at least equal to his father in strength. So he began searching for his father's grave, knowing that the sword must be hidden there. And in the middle of his search, he heard that Inuyasha had returned to life. It was not possible, yet when Sesshoumaru went to confirm it for himself, he saw his brother alive and well, bickering with a human girl.

            He decided to leave his brother alone, until Jaken suggested that perhaps his half-brother knew where their father's grave was located. So he followed along with Jaken's plan, not really believing that Inuyasha would fall into Mu-onna's trap. He had been surprised and saddened when his brother did fall into the trap, realizing that Inuyasha really had no one in the world. He had no one except his mother, which was why he had fallen so easily. When the girl had broken the spell on Inuyasha, he decided that he would kill his brother. The dead should stay dead, and Inuyasha didn't really have anything to live for, anyway. He would just retrieve the sword from his father's grave, then be done with his brother.

            But the sword refused to acknowledge him as master, and then Inuyasha defeated him with Tetsusaiga. He could not understand how his brother was able to even injure him, much less cut his entire arm off. He rubbed his arm absentmindedly. It had taken a couple hundred years, but his arm had finally grown back. 

He realized that Inuyasha had only unlocked the power within the sword because he wanted to protect the human. He decided to investigate the matter and discovered that the human girl looked like the girl that Inuyasha once loved. He had thought that Inuyasha had only lived for this girl, and the thought alone had caused Sesshoumaru to pity his brother. To live only for another person was a sad life indeed, so he became more determined than ever to end his brother's life. Tetsusaiga, if he could ever wield it, would just be a bonus.

            But the longer he observed his brother, the more uncertain his decision to kill him was. His brother never showed much of his emotions except for irritation and anger, so he could never really understand what his brother was thinking. Then, in one particularly desperate battle for Inuyasha, his brother released the cutting wind while unconscious. He knew then that there was something else his brother lived for, and it was not just to protect his woman. He could have run off with that girl anytime during the battle and escape, yet he had stayed. Was it because his brother refused to abandon his other companions?

            He never really understood his brother, but understanding came a bit closer when he met Rin. He finally understood why his father might have loved a human and why his brother hung around them.

            "Sesshoumaru-sama, we're here," Jaken said, jerking him out of his reverie. He got out of the car and entered the large house. Mr. Hayashi was there to greet him.

            "It's been some time since you've last visited," Mr. Hayashi said, inviting him inside. "Rin was about to call the police for fear that something had happened to you."

            "I don't understand why she was so worried about me," Sesshoumaru replied in an emotionless voice.

            "You know they're both fond of you. I suppose children can better intercept and understand the feeling they get from you," Mr. Hayashi said, gesturing for him to sit down.

            "What do you mean?" asked Sesshoumaru, taking his seat.

            "You have an aura that seems very friendly, if you ask me," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "You are kidding, correct?" questioned Sesshoumaru, wondering if the old man was mocking him.

            "I'm just taking guesses. Who knows why those kids love you?" Mr. Hayashi said lightly.

            _They probably only like me because they met me in their past life,_ Sesshoumaru thought. _But that doesn't really explain Inuyasha, does it?_

            "We're here!" the two adult youkai heard two voices shout, running around the house. Inuyasha entered the room they were in first.

            "Rin! Onii-chan's here!" he shouted down the hallway, getting another pair of pattering footsteps to arrive at the room.

            "Onii-chan! Rin was very worried about you," the little girl said, running to Sesshoumaru and hugging him tightly. "You didn't even call Rin or tell Rin where you were going."

            "I'm sorry, Rin," Sesshoumaru said, patting the girl lightly on the head. Mr. Hayashi was giving him "I told you so" looks.

            "Musashino, take Rin and go prepare some tea for us," Mr. Hayashi said. "And don't break anything this time!" He could hear the two kids running off towards the kitchen.

            "Hayashi-sama, the reason I'm here is because—" started Sesshoumaru, but Mr. Hayashi interrupted.

            "Because of Miroku, isn't it?" asked Mr. Hayashi. Sesshoumaru nodded. "You suspect that **that** particular youkai had something to do with it, don't you?"

            "I have more than suspicions about that," Sesshoumaru replied. "After all, everything happened on **his **territory." Mr. Hayashi was about to say something when they both heard Rin screaming. The two adults rushed out to the hallway, only to find Rin unconscious on the floor with Musashino standing near her. The illusion of the girl's black hair soon disappeared, and her original silver hair appeared. Sesshoumaru could feel the illusion spell on Rin being sucked, as well as the girl's youki. The only person he knew who could do that was Musashino.

            He had been in the kitchen, putting the tea in the teapot when he had suddenly felt strange. He felt like his mind was being blanketed and the next thing he knew was throwing the teapot at his little sister.

            "Nii-chan?" Rin had said, scared. He felt his body move forward without his command to hit the girl, but she promptly ran out of the kitchen, screaming. It was a good thing Rin was a smart kid, or else she would have been hurt.

            He felt himself follow her outside the kitchen, all the while trying to get his body to move the way **he** commanded it to. Suddenly he saw his hand grab Rin's hand, and a moment later, she was on the floor, unconscious. He could feel her youki and the power of the spell being drained into him, and tried to get himself to move away from her, but couldn't. He saw his sister's familiar silver hair return.

            "Musashino! What do you think you're doing?!" asked his grandfather, shocked by his grandson's behavior. _I don't know what I'm doing! I can't even control my body right now, much less do anything! _Inuyasha wanted to say, but couldn't.

            "Hayashi-sama, if we don't get Musashino away, Rin will…" Inuyasha heard Sesshoumaru say. Was he killing Rin? He tried to get even one of his fingers to twitch, but nothing worked. He felt suffocated by his own mind.

            He saw his grandfather move towards him, and wanted to warn him away, but he couldn't make a sound. His grandfather grabbed his wrist and was about to pull him away when his grandfather suddenly collapsed, the contact with his skin causing his youki to be drained faster.__

_            Ojii-chan!_ He wanted to scream.

            Sesshoumaru quickly pulled the old man away from Inuyasha. Inuyasha could feel his feet moving of their own accord and following Sesshoumaru.

            "Who are you?" he heard him ask, but he wasn't sure if Sesshoumaru was asking him, or if he was really asking someone else. Inuyasha felt himself charge at Sesshoumaru, trying to grab him to drain the dog youkai of his youki. Sesshoumaru dodged the attack and backed up, keeping some distance between him and Inuyasha. Inuyasha could see that Sesshoumaru didn't seem to be looking too well. His illusion of being a human soon fell away and he saw the pointed ears and blue stripes that ran across his "Onii-chan's" face. Sesshoumaru raised one hand and Inuyasha saw a glowing whip-like thing appear. He brought the whip down on Inuyasha, but Inuyasha evaded the attack.

            He could see that with every minute that Sesshoumaru spent in his presence, he was getting more and more tired. Inuyasha could feel a sort of emptiness in his mind increase with every burst of youki that his body absorbed. He fought the emptiness, trying to expel the youki that his body kept on acquiring.

            Sesshoumaru kept on backing up until they were now both in the large garden in the back of his grandfather's house. There he saw Sesshoumaru collapse on one knee, breathing with difficulty. Inuyasha fought against his body with new strength. He was not going to allow Sesshoumaru to die because of him.

            He was surprised when he felt him hand twitch slightly.

            "I have no choice but to destroy you…Otouto," he heard Sesshoumaru say. _What did he just call me? Little brother? But we're not related by blood, and he's never called me that before…_

            He saw Sesshoumaru transform into a large white dog.

            _"Kill him," _he heard an unfamiliar voice say. Or was the voice really unfamiliar? He felt as if though he had heard of this voice somewhere…

            His body jerked forward and ran to Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha knew that if he didn't do something soon, one touch with Sesshoumaru and his half-brother would die.__

_            Half-brother? What…?_

_            Don't remember! You must not remember!_ That voice was different from the voice he heard before. It was…his own voice?

            He felt something in him crack and open slightly.__

_            No! I must not remember!_

            Inuyasha put all his strength into his right leg, kicking it sideways, causing himself to trip. As soon as he fell on the ground, he could feel whatever it was that had been controlling him be sucked into him. The opening within him that he had felt earlier disappeared. He heard Sesshoumaru breath a sigh of relief as he got up shakily, glad that he was controlling his body again. Sesshoumaru transformed back.

            "I'm glad you're back…Musashino."


	26. Inuyasha, Remember!

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Inuyasha, Remember!**

            The raven black hair around the wooden puppet snapped, and the puppet broke in two, the spell broken.

            "Looks like your little plan failed," a woman said, smirking at her master's irritation.

            "It seems that I've underestimated his power," he said smoothly. "It would seem that hair is not enough to control him. Perhaps we should move to something more…bloody."

            "And less hairy, right?" the woman said, laughing at her own joke. "So, what do you want to do now?"

            "Get his blood," he commanded her.

            "And what do I get in return?" she asked.

            "You get to have your arm back," he said coldly.

            "Hey! I thought you said the payment for **this** errand **was** the arm!" she said angrily.

            "The payment for **this** errand is your life," he hissed. "You have already failed me once when you neglected to kill the miko. Do you want me to return you to your prison?" 

She was silent. He smiled slightly. She started to head for the door.

"Remember," he started. She stopped in her tracks. "Try not to kill him."

"Or it'll be at the cost of my own life, right?" she asked sarcastically. He just smirked in reply.

Sango waited as Miroku caught up with her, panting for air. She waited patiently for him to catch his breath.

"So, you're out of the hospital?" he asked, walking alongside her.

"Yeah. Told you those herbs that Hayashi-sensei gave me worked," she said in reply. She saw Miroku's face darken with the mention of that name. "What's wrong?"

"It seems that Inuyasha almost killed Hayashi-sensei yesterday, as well as his little sister and Sesshoumaru," he said in a low voice so the people around them couldn't hear. Sango thought that she had heard wrong.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You were right," Miroku said. "We shouldn't wait to tell Inuyasha about the past."

Sango was about to question him further when he made a silencing gesture to her for Inuyasha and Kagome were coming.

"I'll tell you later," he mouthed. "Good morning, Inuyasha, Kagome," he said pleasantly.

"Good morning," Kagome said cheerfully. Inuyasha just grumbled in reply.

Sango waited patiently for Miroku to somehow get rid of Inuyasha during lunch so that he could tell her and Kagome privately what had happened yesterday. Finally, after much convincing, Miroku was able to arrive at the table by himself, whereas Inuyasha exited the cafeteria.

"Where is he going?" asked Kagome as Miroku sat down.

"He's going to use the phone to reserve a camping space for us this Saturday," Miroku said, starting on his lunch.

"What? Camping?" questioned Sango, not remembering if they had discussed anything about camping.

"Yep. I just told him that we should all have a camping trip to relax after the test tomorrow, and so that we can know each other better," Miroku answered.

"Oh no! I forgot all about the test," said Kagome.

"That's the least of our worries," said Miroku. In a lower voice he said, "Yesterday, Inuyasha attacked Rin, Sesshoumaru, and his grandfather by sucking their youki."

"Huh? He can do that?" asked Sango.

"I forgot to tell you," Kagome said, "When Inuyasha was just a kid, he lost all his youki by sucking up his youki. He was sick, so his parents and his grandfather tried to heal him with their youki, except their youki was consumed, too."

"Why?" asked Sango, having never heard of such a thing in all the years that she had been a youkai exterminator. 

"We have yet to discover why," Miroku answered. "The important thing is that he can suck youki, and yesterday, something… Okay, this is my opinion," Miroku said, putting his lunch down. "I think that something possessed him and caused him to attack his family members."

"Does this have something to do with Naraku?" asked Kagome timidly.

"Most likely," Sango said, the old hatred in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter if it's Naraku or not," Miroku said in a firm tone. "Inuyasha is in danger, so I think that we now have no choice but to allow him the chance to remember the past." The trio became silent with the decision. They had finally agreed to try to get Inuyasha to remember, but how were they going to do it?

"There's one other thing I forgot to mention the other day," Miroku said, getting the two girls' attention. "You both know that Inuyasha was in a coma until recently, right?" They both nodded, a bit unsure. "You want to know how he got into a coma?" he asked, waiting for the girls' curiosity to snag them.

"All right, Miroku, how?" asked Sango exasperatedly when he didn't immediately start speaking. He smiled pleasantly at her.

"Okay. Inuyasha and I had just exited out of this shop at night. My grandfather had wanted something that could be only found in that store, which was why we were there, but that's not the point. When we were crossing the street, I saw Inuyasha start to stagger a bit. I thought he was pretending to be drunk or something, but then he just suddenly collapsed on the ground," Miroku said. "And that's how he got his coma."

"So?" the two girls asked a few seconds later.

"So…something came out of him when he collapsed," Miroku said. He could tell that he got their attention again. "Something that, to me, looked suspiciously like a soul."

"What are you trying to say?" asked Kagome slowly.

"His soul came out that night for a reason," Miroku said. "And after his soul returned, Inuyasha's aura changed again. You know he is devoid of youki, right? Well after he woke up, he was even more empty than usual. And guess what?" Miroku continued. "Right after he woke up, he couldn't quite remember some specific things."

"So he had temporary amnesia," Sango said.

"This 'amnesia' would seem to be very specific in who it chose for him to forget," Miroku said dryly. "After thinking about it for some time, I found a pattern in who Inuyasha forgot."

"And?" asked Kagome, wondering what this was supposed to lead to.

"And it would seem that he forgot anyone who had any resemblance to the people he had met in the Sengoku Jidai," Miroku said, his face serious. "His parents, who are actually the reincarnation of his original parents, his sister, who was the little girl that followed Sesshoumaru around, Sesshoumaru, whom I don't need to explain, and you, Kagome."

"Huh? Me?" asked Kagome, confused.

"When we were walking home after the mall, he told me that he should have remembered you from kindergarten, but didn't," Miroku said. "And the other thing he told me was that when he first woke up, the first thing he remembered was a… What did he say? A 'shining orb' or a 'jewel' or something."

"Are you saying that he saw the Shikon no Tama while he was in a coma?" asked Sango, surprised.

"If he is Inuyasha's reincarnation, then it is very likely that what he saw was the Shikon no Tama," Miroku said. "What I don't understand is why. Why would he see the Shikon no Tama?"

"Because he wants it?" asked Sango.

"I don't think that's the only reason, if he had wanted it at all…" said Miroku. He noticed that Kagome was starting to look pale. "What's wrong?"

"You… Inuyasha fell into his coma around six months ago, right?" asked Kagome, her eyes serious and locked on Miroku's.

"Yes…"

"And near six months ago, I fell into the well into the Sengoku Jidai," continued Kagome. He was beginning to understand. "I was chased by a centipede who was trying to kill me for the Shikon no Tama in me."

"And you wanted someone to save you, right?" Miroku said slowly, piecing the information together.

"Since the Shikon no Tama was in you, then it might have granted your wish?" asked Sango, catching on.

"You said that Inuyasha fell down in the middle of the street for no apparent reason at night, right?" asked Kagome, getting a confirming nod from Miroku. "It was at night that I was being chased by the centipede. And it was at night that Inuyasha re-awoken."

"Are you saying that the Shikon no Tama granted your wish to be saved by plucking Inuyasha's soul out from this time and putting it back into his body in the Sengoku Jidai?" questioned Sango. Kagome nodded.

"That means that the jewel was actually powerful enough to bring the dead back to life," Miroku mumbled under his breath.

"What do you mean? Inuyasha wasn't dead…was he?" asked Kagome, no longer certain.

"Kikyo's arrow was supposed to have sealed him for eternity, yet you were able to break the seal after he woke up," Miroku said, his elbows on the table, propping his head up. "He probably really did die after Kikyo sealed him, and was reincarnated into this time, but then you brought him back to life, so it would **seem** that Kikyo's arrow was faulty, but **actually** it wasn't."

"So because Kagome-chan brought him back to life in the past, his present self had to lose his soul?" asked Sango, awaiting Miroku's confirmation.

"I think that's how it goes," he replied. The group stopped talking for Inuyasha soon arrived.

"We're going camping on Saturday," he announced, taking his lunch out. He didn't exactly sound excited.

"Inuyasha, err, I mean, Musashino," Kagome started, smiling nervously. "Would you mind coming to my house today?"

"Another tutoring session?" asked Inuyasha.

"Umm, yeah," said Kagome brightly.

"Sure," Inuyasha replied nonchalantly. Kagome thought that he was rather laid back for someone who just got possessed yesterday.

"Okay, so let's get started," Inuyasha said once the group arrived at Kagome's house.

"Actually… We're not here to study or get tutored," Miroku said. Inuyasha looked at him in confusion. "We're here to discuss some things with you."

"Like what?" Inuyasha asked, wondering what was wrong with them.

"Please take a seat," Kagome said, directing him to the living room. He sat down, looking at them in confusion.

"We're going to tell you something so please don't interrupt," Sango said. Inuyasha nodded his understanding and soon the three told him everything that they knew or had recently discovered. The sun had set by the time they were finished. Inuyasha had not interrupted once, which was unusual of him.

"Do you understand, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome, wondering if Inuyasha had really been listening to them the whole time or had he zoned out.

"Perfectly," Inuyasha replied. "Kikyo kills my past self because she thinks I betrayed her. I get sealed, but then I'm unsealed because of you and the Shikon no Tama. Shippou joins because his parents died. Miroku joins because of his air rip thingy and he wants to defeat Naraku to get himself 'uncursed.' Sango joins because Naraku killed her entire village and is using her brother as a puppet against her. Naraku wants the Shikon no Tama because he's a hanyou and wants to turn into a full youkai, just like my past self. There. Easy," he finished. They just looked at him in silence. He really had been listening.

"Ahem, well anyway, that's why you have to join us and hurry up and remember your past so that you can help us defeat Naraku," Miroku said.

"You mean, Naraku-sama," Inuyasha said, chiding Miroku for his lack of manners. Kagome, Sango, and Shippou, who had arrived somewhere in the middle of the conversation just looked at him funny.

"The point is, you have to remember your past now," Miroku said, slightly annoyed. "The sooner the better."

"Okay, and how do I do that?" asked Inuyasha. "How did you guys remember?"

"I… I remembered when Kagome-chan and I were being attacked by a snake youkai and your grandfather came and rescued us," Sango said.

"Ojii-chan rescued you?" asked Inuyasha, impressed.

"Yeah…"

"I remembered as soon as I got my air rip," Miroku said in a quiet voice. Kagome and Sango looked at him sympathetically.

"So it seems that whenever you guys are in danger, you remember," Inuyasha said, oblivious to Miroku's feelings. "So all I have to do is wait for a disaster to happen."

"What?!" they all shouted at him.

"That's what we're trying to prevent by telling you all this," Miroku said, angry that Inuyasha was being so dense.

"What do you want me to do?" demanded Inuyasha. "Find a spell that says 'how to remember past lives?'"

"That might work," Kagome said jokingly.

"But Inuyasha's right," Sango said. "We've just told him about everything that happened in his past, even the sad childhood and hating Sesshoumaru part, and he still doesn't remember."

"Maybe if we tried pictures?" suggested Shippou. They all turned to look at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome.

"I mean this," Shippou said, transforming himself into a hanyou Inuyasha. He then changed himself to look like Inuyasha when he was a human. He then transformed himself to look like Kikyo.

"Hey, she's hot," Inuyasha joked, getting glares from Kagome. He laughed nervously.

"Aren't you remembering anything?" asked Sango.

"Nope."

"It might just be a small thing that you didn't know before," Miroku said.

"Nope. Everything's the same," said Inuyasha. "Does anyone have any food?" All he got were a bunch of angry people. "Okaay… Never mind, then."

"Try to make an effort!" pleaded Sango.

"What? How do I make an effort? Do I knock myself on the head in hopes that I will remember?" asked Inuyasha, grinning.

"You're not taking this seriously!" said Shippou, angry that Inuyasha was kidding around.

"I'll knock your head a few times if you don't start helping," Miroku said, his eyes closed in annoyance.

"It's easy for **you** to talk since you already remember," Inuyasha said, still in good humor.

"Argh!" Miroku groaned, plopping himself in a chair. "It's hopeless."

"Don't be so pessimistic," said Inuyasha, yawning.

"How can you not be worried with all that we've told you?" asked Kagome.

"I'm worried," Inuyasha said, trying to reassure her, but not really sounding worried.

"Humph!" Kagome sat down in annoyance. "Sure, that sounds really worried to me."

"I just have a different way of dealing with things than you do, so just chill out," said Inuyasha, stretching himself out.

"Oh? And what's that?" asked Kagome sarcastically.

"Just be happy."

"What?" the others asked, disbelievingly.

"C'mon. Be happy," Inuyasha said, getting slightly annoyed with how dense everyone was. "It's better to act happy when something bad is going to happen than to get all weepy or grumpy."

"You're one to talk, Mr. Grumpy," Shippou muttered.

"Don't get me confused with the other Inuyasha," Inuyasha said. "Well, if that's all, then I'm going home. Any objections?"

"I'm going home, too," Miroku said.

"Me too," Sango added, getting up.

"Well then, thank you, Kagome, for your hospitality," Inuyasha said, bowing.

"When did you get so polite?" asked Kagome in surprise.

"Since my mom beat up my dad for being rude and threatened me with the same punishment," Inuyasha replied. "See ya tomorrow then! Good luck studying!"

Kagome was reminded of the test tomorrow and quickly ran up the stairs to her room to study.

**Author's Note: **Next chapter is already in the works, so I might be able to update tomorrow, even if school is starting. Yay! Title for the next chapter is: "Arrows of Love."


	27. Arrows of Love

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Arrows of Love**

            Kagome wracked her brains for the formula to solve the problem. She really wished that she had spent the afternoon studying instead of getting Inuyasha to try and remember his past life. She was on her last problem, but she just couldn't seem to remember the stupid formula! Suddenly, the horrible bell rang, and the teacher told the students to turn their test in now, or get a zero on their test.

            Kagome was tempted to try the last problem still, but she saw that everyone else had already gotten up and were in the process of turning their test in, so she did the same. She saw the expressions on their faces, and knew that a lot of them were worried about the scores they were going to get on the test. Everyone had a dismal expression on, except for Inuyasha.

            "Why are you smiling like that?" asked Miroku, pissed at his friend's happy expression

            "No reason," Inuyasha said, still smiling.

            "You didn't study, did you?" asked Miroku.

            "Nope."

            "Ah," Miroku replied, understanding now. If Inuyasha had not told him yesterday that he tried to act happy whenever he was worried, he would never have figured it out for himself. In a way, this Inuyasha was a lot like the old one. They both tried to hide their emotions; they just approached the issue differently.

            "You're worried, aren't you?" asked Kagome, reaching the same conclusion as Miroku.

            "Yup," replied Inuyasha, still acting incredibly happy.

            "You must really be worried if you're acting **that** happy," Sango grumbled, worrying about her own test.

            "Why didn't you study yesterday?" asked Kagome.

            "I had to take care of Rin," Inuyasha said, his mask slipping for a second, revealing how concerned he was for his sister.

            "Kagome!" one of her friends called out, gesturing for her to go to them. She walked there, wondering what they wanted.

            "Kagome, I heard rumors that you're going camping with Musashino," her friend said excitedly. "Is it true?"

            "Well, yeah, but…" Kagome started, but her friend cut her off.

            "You're so lucky!" her friend sighed. "I've been trying to get him to notice me since fifth grade, but he hasn't even looked at me once!"

            "It's not like that between us," Kagome said, trying to get her friends to listen.

            "Sure, Kagome," another one of them said. "You didn't admit you liked that old boyfriend of yours back then when in reality you did. You may not realize you like Musashino now, but you soon will, and I'm going to be there to say 'I told you so.'"

            "You don't understand—" Kagome started again.

            "Oi, Kagome!" Inuyasha called to her. Her friends started giggling. "I need to talk to you."

            "Go on, Kagome," her friend said, giving her a nudge. Kagome walked to Inuyasha, her face red with embarrassment.

            "What?" she asked, sharper than she intended.

            "Uh, nothing," Inuyasha said, grinning foolishly. "Miroku just told me to call you for some reason."

            "Miroku, eh?" Kagome said, giving Miroku an evil eye.

            "It was Sango's idea," Miroku said quickly, pointing to Sango. Kagome looked at Sango in surprise, which quickly turned to irritation.

            "Why did you do that?" Kagome asked, annoyed.

            "I thought you needed help getting away from your friends' assumptions," Sango said innocently. She was hanging around Miroku way too much.

            "Oh yeah? Well now they think that I'm with Musashino!" Kagome said loudly, blushing when she realized that Inuyasha had heard it, too. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

            "Well, we better not disappoint them, then," Inuyasha said. He took her hand, much to her surprise, and led her outside, to their PE class. Kagome felt herself turn red as she heard her friends cheering her on. She had to admit that Inuyasha's grip was warm and reassuring, making her feel safe. As soon as they were outside, though, she quickly took her hand out of his grasp.

            "What—Why were you doing that?" she asked nervously, hoping she hadn't offended him.

            "Because the public demands it of us," he joked, winking at her before going off to join Miroku and the other boys. She felt relieved, yet frustrated at the same time.

            She sat down on the bench to rest, Sango sitting next to her. They watched the girls play tennis, but soon their sight drifted to a certain pair that were playing tennis on another court.

            Inuyasha and Miroku were in one team, and they were defeating any team that they met on their way to the top court. They were one court away from the top, and it looked like they were winning. Kagome watched in awe as Inuyasha and Miroku flowed through each other like water, hitting every ball that came their way, never losing their footing. She watched Inuyasha deliver a particularly powerful hit to the ball, causing the ball to bounce in the court once before bouncing out quickly towards the wire mesh. Inuyasha and Miroku gave each other high fives. She heard Sango sigh beside her.

            "Sango-chan, what's wrong?" she asked, although she already knew what her friend was sighing for.

            "Nothing," she replied, still looking at the pair of boys that had now ascended to the top court. Or rather, she was looking at a particular boy who used to be a monk.

            "Miroku looks great out there, doesn't he?" asked Kagome in a normal, conversational tone.

            "Yeah he does," Sango said before catching herself. She blushed a deep crimson.

            "You don't have to pretend, Sango-chan," Kagome said, giggling.

            "I just don't want him to think I'm **that **easy to get," Sango said, finding her shoes very interesting. Kagome smiled in understanding.

            "Yay! School's finally over!" Kagome said happily.

            "You forgot we have archery club today," Sango said.

            "That's right!" Kagome said, dragging her friend behind her as she went towards the place where the archery club was going to be held. There were quite a few number of people signing up, and she saw Inuyasha and Miroku among them.

            "Ah, fancy meeting you here, Sango," Miroku said, smiling in that way that only he could.

            "Hmph," Sango grunted in reply, wondering if Miroku had the talent to shoot an arrow **and** grope her at the same time. She couldn't believe that **he** of all people would join the archery club. Kendo club, she could understand, but Miroku had never really shown the interest for archery before.

            "All right, people," a cold, familiar voice rang out. "Please assemble here quickly if you're going to join the archery club. If you're not joining, then please get out."

            Kagome pulled Sango to the place where everyone was headed. She felt something brush against her arm and saw that Inuyasha and Miroku were standing next to her. Sango shifted her position so that she somehow ended up farthest away from Miroku, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome to stand right next to each other.

            "I am the supervisor for this club. You may address me as Omori-sensei," Sesshoumaru said, his tone of voice leaving no room for questions. Kagome saw some people shift around nervously under the supervisor's scrutiny.

            "Those of you who already know how to use a bow and arrow please raise your hand," he said, his eyes scanning the crowd. Kagome saw that Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango were all raising their hands. _It figures that Miroku and Inuyasha know how to use a bow and arrow,_ Kagome thought,_ After all, Inuyasha's grandfather trains youkai exterminators, so he should have taught them how to use it too._

            "Only six people?" asked Sesshoumaru in disdain. "How pitiful. Very well, you six go over there and pick up a bow and quiver. You may start shooting the targets that have already been set up. If I should find anyone doing something that may potentially harm someone else, I will do more than just kick you out of the club." He regarded the two students that he did not know coldly. Kagome felt a little sorry for them. "The rest of you follow me. I will instruct you on how to use your bow. If there are any questions, you may ask me," Sesshoumaru said, though he didn't really sound like he welcomed questions.

            Kagome followed Inuyasha and Miroku as they each picked up a bow and arrow. She, as well as the others, followed their example. Kagome walked to her target while Inuyasha and Miroku were busy checking the string of the bow, and tapping the bow to make sure that termites hadn't eaten it hollow. Kagome wasn't really sure if she should follow their example. She really didn't know how to do anything other than shoot the arrow, so she decided to put her faith in the people who purchased the bow.

            She notched an arrow into her bow and let the arrow fly. It hit the ring just outside of the bull's-eye. She heard one of the people she didn't know whistle in appreciation. She blushed.

            Kagome heard the sound of a very powerful arrow whistle through the air, and turned just in time to see the arrow hit dead center in the target. She turned to see who had fired it, and was slightly irritated when she found Inuyasha smirking at her.

            He took up another arrow and she decided to do the same. She aimed for the center again and fired. The arrow embedded itself just below the center of the target. She saw Inuyasha's arrow hit the place just above and to the right of his previous arrow. _At least he's not so good as to split the first arrow in half,_ Kagome thought to herself.

            She turned to look at Miroku, and was not really impressed by his skills. There were arrows lying beyond the target, and the ones that had actually hit the target were so far away from the center that it would seem as if though he had fired the arrows while closing his eyes.

            "Hey, you improved," Inuyasha said, grinning. "Looks like some of your arrows actually hit this time."

            "Shut up," Miroku grumbled, firing another arrow. This time his arrow flew off into Sango's target, hitting the center. "See. I can hit the center, too."

            "That's Sango's target, you idiot," Inuyasha said, shaking his head. "You suck."

            Kagome had to agree with Inuyasha on that remark. She looked over at Sango and saw that the ex-youkai exterminator was trying to fire three arrows at the same time. She let the arrows go and all three hit very close to the center.

            "Wow, Sango-chan," Kagome said. "You're pretty good at this."

            "It was just a lucky shot," Sango said, blushing slightly at her praise. "I usually can't hit so accurately."

            "But you did right now, and that's something to be complimented," Inuyasha said, impressed with her skills. Sango smiled in thanks and they all started to fire their arrows again.

            A couple minutes later, Kagome had run out of arrows, so stopped and turned to see how Inuyasha was doing. She was shocked and slightly annoyed when she looked at his target. He had made a small heart using the arrows in the center of the target, and the heart was surrounded by a large star near the outside rim of the target.

            "Show off," Kagome grumbled. "Is there anything you can't do?"

            "Nope," Inuyasha grinned cheekily.

            "He can't ride a bike," Miroku said.

            "What?" asked Kagome incredulously.

            "Miroku!" Inuyasha said loudly.

            "And he can't dance, either," Miroku snickered.

            "Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted, promptly swinging his bow at Miroku. Miroku ducked. Kagome heard Sango sigh and shake her head, going back to fire her arrows.

            "Stop playing around, you two," Sesshoumaru's icy voice rang out. The two boys immediately stopped. "This session is over, so please return the bows where you found them. Take the arrows out of the targets and put them next to the bows. After you have finished, then you may leave."

            The six of them went and retrieved their arrows quietly, Sesshoumaru's cool glance ever watchful of their every move. Finally they finished cleaning up and dismissed themselves. Kagome saw Inuyasha converse a bit with Sesshoumaru before he ran to join them.

            "I just told him about our camping trip tomorrow," Inuyasha said, walking next to them. "He's going to drive us there, so be ready to leave at 7:30."

            "In the morning?" asked Miroku.

            "Duh," Inuyasha replied. "Better pack your stuff tonight."

            The group conversed lightly until they reached the place where they would have to split up. Sango and Miroku both walked one direction, while Inuyasha and Kagome walked the other. Kagome noticed the Sango was allowing Miroku to walk closer to her than usual. She smiled to herself.__

_            It's so cute to see Sango-chan and Miroku-sama together, _she thought. _It's about time they started to somewhat admit their feelings toward each other. I just hope Miroku-sama doesn't keep ruining his chances by being a pervert. _She sighed.

            "What's wrong?" asked Inuyasha.

            "Nothing. I was just thinking of how cute Miroku-sam-err, -san is with Sango," Kagome said. She really had to remember to start calling Miroku "Miroku" instead of "Miroku-sama" if she didn't want to start to attract attention.

            "I just wish those two would stop tiptoeing around each other," Inuyasha said. Kagome looked at him in surprise. "It's so obvious that they're head over heels for each other, but nooooo. They just have to play hard to get with each other. It's annoying." Was this coming from Inuyasha? Kagome had to resist the urge to hit herself a few times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

            "You mean, you've noticed?" asked Kagome, still not quite believing her ears. Inuyasha wasn't exactly the brightest in their group, but then again, that was back then.

            "Do you think I'm stupid or something?" asked Inuyasha in pretend annoyance. "Miroku's my best friend. Don't you think I would know what he's feeling? Yeah, sure he remembers his past life, but I can still read him like a book."

            "Really?" asked Kagome, surprised that he was so perceptive. Had Inuyasha always been this way?

            "Of course," Inuyasha answered as they crossed the street. Suddenly a guy on a bike rode quickly past them, causing Kagome to stagger back and trip. Inuyasha grabbed her hand just before she fell.

            "Watch where you're going, asshole!" Inuyasha shouted at the person. The person just turned around and made a rude gesture at Inuyasha. But because he wasn't watching where he was going, he crashed into a pole, causing the people around him to laugh.

            "Hey, you okay?" asked Inuyasha gently.

            "Y-yeah," Kagome replied, blushing. She noticed that Inuyasha was still holding her hand, but he didn't seem to notice. She decided not to mention it to him.

            "Let's go then," Inuyasha said as they continued on their way. Kagome couldn't stop herself from blushing. Inuyasha of the Sengoku Jidai would never have held her hand like this. She decided that she could get to like this new Inuyasha. Or could she?

            She started to frown. She felt like she was betraying Inuyasha by liking this person. Sure, they had the same soul, but they weren't really the same person, were they? She had always told herself that she was a different person from Kikyo, so didn't that mean that Inuyasha was different from Musashino? Was this what Inuyasha had felt when he had seen Kikyo and her together? Did he feel like he was betraying Kikyo by loving her? Or did he love her? Did he just see Kikyo in her and protected her because of it? Did she even love this Inuyasha, or was it just because he looked similar to the past Inuyasha when he was human?

            She didn't have time to completely sort out her thoughts for they had arrived at the steps to the shrine. She felt Inuyasha slip his hand out of hers and immediately missed the presence. _Baka! You don't even know if you like this Inuyasha!_ she berated herself.

            "See you tomorrow, then," Inuyasha said, waving his hand as he walked off to his house.

            "See you tomorrow…Musashino," Kagome said quietly. Then she ran up the steps to her room to pack, pushing all other thoughts away.

**Author's Note:** Yeah… I should be preparing for school, but oh well.


	28. The Camping Experience

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Camping Experience**

            Kagome was ready to leave at 7:30, and sure enough, someone rang the doorbell to her house at that time. Her mother got the door before she could.

            "Hello. Are you here to pick up Kagome?" asked Mrs. Higurashi.

            "Yes," answered Sesshoumaru in a cool voice. Souta and Shippou came downstairs to see who was at the door.

            "Sesshoumaru!" Shippou gasped.

            "Your hair is silver just like Inuyasha no nii-chan," Souta remarked, noticing Sesshoumaru's long silver hair. Sesshoumaru didn't reply.

            "Okay then. Mama, I'm going, so I'll be back by Sunday," Kagome said as she walked out the door. She felt someone grabbing on to her leg and looked down to see Shippou.

            "Kagome! Don't you know who that is?" asked Shippou, wondering why Kagome was so willing to fall into the hands of the enemy.

            "Shippou-chan, don't worry," Kagome said reassuringly. "This is Musashino's um…godfather. He won't do anything bad to me." She gave Shippou a quick hug before exiting her home, Shippou still looking suspiciously at Sesshoumaru.

            "Have a good time," her mother said. Kagome waved goodbye and her mother closed the door. She had expected to walk in silence until she got to the car, but Sesshoumaru surprised her.

            "You're that girl from five hundred years ago," Sesshoumaru said. Was that surprise she detected in his voice? "The one that my brother loved."

            "He didn't love me," Kagome said, blushing. They remained in silence until they reached the steps, where Sesshoumaru began speaking again.

            "You and your friends remember what happened in the past," he said. It was more of a question than a statement.

            "Yes," Kagome answered, wondering why on earth was Sesshoumaru talking to a human like her.

            "That explains a lot," he said mostly to himself. They descended down the steps, Kagome wishing that someone else had come to pick her up.

            "I'm worried about Musashino," Sesshoumaru said suddenly. "And I believe you are, too." Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru in surprise. Sesshoumaru was worried about Inuyasha?

            "I went to the grave of Inuyasha and your friends five hundred years ago," he said. This bit of information surprised Kagome, and Sesshoumaru noticed her surprise.

            "Grave? Shippou-chan didn't mention anything about a grave," Kagome said, wondering who had made the grave for them.

            "It was more of a pile of ashes than anything else," Sesshoumaru said. "The scent of your friends, including Inuyasha, ended there, as well as the scent of the one you call Kikyo."

            "Kikyo?" asked a surprised Kagome.

            "Naraku's scent ended there as well," Sesshoumaru continued, ignoring her question.

            "Are you saying Naraku died there?" asked Kagome. If Naraku was dead, then who was the one who gave Miroku his air rip?

            "Naraku is a lord now, as Miroku may have already told you," Sesshoumaru said, not really answering her question.

            "Then what are you talking about?" asked Kagome. Silence fell on them for a few seconds before Sesshoumaru spoke again.

            "When I got to the resting place of your friends, the only thing I saw was a field of unnaturally green grass," he said. "Two of your friends' weapons were still there, whereas Tetsusaiga was missing. I believe that the one you call Kikyo defeated Naraku by purifying him to his death, and his purified remains was the cause of the grass becoming so green. I know that the one you call Kaede took Tetsusaiga for safekeeping from other demons, for I was the one who helped her hide it in the tree that Inuyasha was pinned to."

            Kagome was speechless from the information that Sesshoumaru had just told her, and the fact that he was actually talking to her for such a long time. So he was the one who had hidden Tetsusaiga in the God tree. That would explain how Inuyasha had found it. But how was he able to hide Tetsusaiga if he couldn't touch it? Kagome wondered if he had worn gloves or something in order to place the sword up in the tree. But why would he help Kaede? Then again, why would he be worried about Musashino? It was obvious that Sesshoumaru knew that Musashino was Inuyasha's reincarnation, and he had always been after Inuyasha's blood, so why was he worried about him now? Did Sesshoumaru actually care for Inuyasha? But then why had he tried to kill him? 

And what about Naraku? If Kikyo had really defeated him, then how was he a lord right now? Kagome felt like her head was going to explode with the questions that were running through it right now. They finally reached the car and Sesshoumaru opened the door for her.

"Does Jaken still hang around you?" asked Kagome before she realized how rude that sounded.

"He is busy preparing the old castle for Hayashi-sama's birthday," Sesshoumaru said indifferently.

"Oh," Kagome replied, not knowing what else to say. She saw Inuyasha exit his house a few houses down from the shrine and start to walk towards them.

"Onii-chan," grinned Inuyasha as a greeting.

"Hurry up and get in the car," Sesshoumaru said, getting into the driver's seat. "We're late as it is."

"And who's fault is that?" joked Inuyasha, sitting in the front passenger seat. Sesshoumaru did not respond.

They picked up Miroku and Sango a few minutes later and headed up to the mountains. All the while Kagome pondered over what Sesshoumaru had told her. Why had he told her this, anyway? Was he really **that** worried about Inuyasha?

A few hours after they arrived at the campsite, the boys had finally managed to get both tents up, and Miroku was busy trying to build a fire. Sesshoumaru had left as soon as he had dropped them off, saying that he had to help Mr. Hayashi with something and had left them alone. Kagome and Sango were busy collecting wood for fire whereas Inuyasha was off to try to catch some fish.

"Yes, so that means that Naraku died five hundred years ago," Kagome concluded after telling Miroku and Sango what Sesshoumaru had just told her.

"And yet Naraku is alive and well in this time," Miroku said, trying to understand how that could be.

"Shouldn't we include Inuyasha in this conversation?" asked Sango, looking at the direction that Inuyasha had gone off to.

"He already knows," Kagome answered. "I told him before you guys entered the car. Sesshoumaru wasn't pleased. If I didn't know any better, I would say that Sesshoumaru was being a bit overprotective of Inuyasha."

"He is," Miroku said, surprising the two girls. "You've never seen him when he's with Inuyasha and Rin. You can tell he loves them both very much."

"I can't imagine him to be that way," Sango said honestly, trying to picture the cold youkai hugging Inuyasha or Rin.

"Well, he is," Miroku said, finally getting the fire to start. "I wonder if Inuyasha has caught any fish yet. Why don't you go check, Kagome?" he asked, dropping the honorific he usually attached to her name. He was too used to knowing her as just "Kagome" in this life to start calling her "Kagome-sama" again.

"Go, Kagome," Sango said, nudging her friend in the correct direction. "Take your time."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kagome, feeling that the two were trying to set her up for something.

"Don't be so obvious, Sango," Miroku said. "You have to be more subtle when it comes to these type of things."

"I suppose you know all about subtle, don't you?" asked Sango, slightly annoyed with Miroku's "know it all" attitude.

"Of course I do," Miroku replied, and the two began to bicker over trivial things. Kagome decided that she might as well leave. As soon as she left, though, Miroku and Sango stopped bickering.

"Do you think it worked?" asked Sango.

"Of course. I knew Kagome would leave when it became clear that we weren't going to be talking to her for some time," Miroku answered. "It was only a matter of time before she became tired of our bickering and went off to look for Inuyasha."

"So what do we do now?" asked Sango, beginning to feel bored already.

"Let's go spy on them!" Miroku said. Sango agreed with him. It would be just like the old times.

Inuyasha sat there, bored as he cast his fishing line for the hundredth time that morning. The fish just weren't biting. Curse that stupid Miroku and his dumb plans for everyone to relax after the test. What kind of lame excuse was that? He knew that Miroku had only wanted him to reserve a space because he had wanted him to go away. He wasn't stupid, but he had complied with his friend's stupid request because he didn't really want to get into a fight with him, especially so soon after his friend got his air void. He wasn't insensitive to his friend's feelings, despite what others might have thought.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, waiting for the fish to bite when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see who was intruding on his boredom.

"Hi, Inuyasha," Kagome said. "Would you mind if I sat here?" He shook his head and Kagome sat down next to him. The silence stretched out between them.

"The lake is pretty, isn't it?" asked Kagome, sighing.

"Not as pretty as you," Inuyasha joked. He cursed himself. Why was he always acting like this whenever she was around? He found himself constantly joking around her. Well, yeah, he joked around whenever he was among his friends, but with her, it was different. Because with her, even though he said things in a joking way, he really did mean the things he said. The girl always made him feel strange whenever he was close to her.

"That's not funny," Kagome said, blushing.

"Sorry," he said. _Lame, lame, lame! What's wrong with me? Why can't I just act normal for crying out loud?!_

"So, are you having fun fishing?" asked Kagome, looking into the bucket that he had brought with him. There weren't any fish inside.

"Sure, I'm having loads of fun," Inuyasha said sarcastically, reeling the line in to see if the bait was still there. The worm looked pretty soggy, but was otherwise unharmed. He cast the line again. "Stupid fish," he grumbled. Kagome giggled at his annoyance.

"We don't really have to catch any fish tonight, do we?" asked Kagome. "I mean, I brought a lot of other stuff with me."

"Like what? Instant ramen?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

"Err, yes…" Kagome replied.

"Yes!" Inuyasha shouted, reeling the line in and throwing the fishing rod down. "I don't have to fish! Yes! Yes!"

"Do you really hate fishing that much?" asked Kagome at Inuyasha's weird antics.

"No, but it was really boring the pants off me," Inuyasha replied, getting the fishing rod and bucket, heading back to camp. Suddenly, they both heard a slapping sound and quickly went in the direction of the sound to investigate.

"Sango? Miroku?" asked Kagome after she and Inuyasha had found the two obscured behind a couple of bushes. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Sango replied quickly, her cheeks flaming red. She quickly went off towards the direction of the camp.

"Miroku?" questioned Inuyasha, looking at him shrewdly.

"We weren't doing anything. I don't know what she's so angry about," Miroku said innocently. All he got were two very suspicious pair of eyes.

"You groped her, didn't you?" asked Kagome, shaking her head.

"I bet he did," Inuyasha said, walking off to the camp with Kagome following him.

"No I didn't!" Miroku said. "Why doesn't anyone ever believe me?" But Inuyasha and Kagome were already out of earshot.

Sango sat near the fire, embarrassed at what had happened. She and Miroku had been spying on Inuyasha and Kagome for quite a while and nothing interesting had happened. She was crouched behind a bush so that Inuyasha and Kagome couldn't see her when suddenly she felt someone's warm breath tickling her neck. She knew that it was Miroku, and she knew that he didn't know that his breath was tickling her because he had just remarked on how boring it was. She had turned around to tell him to back off when suddenly her lips smacked on to his because of their close proximity. Out of habit and embarrassment, she had slapped him.

"I'm so stupid," groaned Sango to herself. "Now he'll probably hate me forever." She had been relatively surprised that Miroku hadn't groped her at all the past few days. In fact, he had stopped groping her the day that he had given her the music box with those words carved on the bottom. Sango wondered if he had even noticed those words down there. Wouldn't she feel stupid if he hadn't?

She looked at the flames flickering, lost in her thoughts. She was glad that she had remembered her love for Miroku when she had regained her other memories. People like Miroku were hard to understand unless one knew them for a long time, and she was glad that she had been given that advantage. This Miroku and the old Miroku were so alike that they were practically the same person. The only differences were that he and Inuyasha were best buddies and he wasn't running around asking people to bear his children. She laughed inwardly, wondering how that would go with modern society.

He was like her. She hadn't changed that much with her memory of the past, either. Her past made her appreciate the present. She could feel that Miroku was glad that he had remembered the past too. It was just something in his eyes. He wasn't happy that he got his air rip again, but she could tell that he was glad to have remembered.

Sango knew that the first day after he remembered wasn't that great for him, for she could see his eyes clouded with worry and sadness. But after that, his eyes had amazingly cleared up. On their way home on Friday, he had hinted that he would rather have gotten his air void again and remember, than never remember. She could tell that he was sincere when he had said it. It had been one of those few times when he let all his masks down, revealing the person inside.

She heard the sound of someone coming closer and looked up. She saw Inuyasha and Kagome appear, with Miroku following them. He still had a red handprint on his cheek. Sango felt guilty for giving it to him, but she was too embarrassed to say so.

"So you've caught some fish?" asked Sango, hoping they wouldn't question her strange behavior.

"Nope. We've got something even better," Inuyasha said happily. "Instant ramen!"

"Ah, still the same old Inuyasha," Miroku said, sitting next to Sango while still maintaining a good distance from her hands.

"Whatever," Inuyasha said, digging through Kagome's backpack without her permission.

"Inuyasha! Stop it," Kagome said, hitting him playfully since she couldn't exactly "sit" him anymore.

"Found it!" Inuyasha shouted happily.

"You're such an idiot," Miroku said as Inuyasha went to his backpack to get a pot out.

"Where do we get the water?" asked Inuyasha as Kagome reclaimed the ramen from his hands.

"I think you can get water from that faucet over there," Sango said, pointing Inuyasha in the correct direction.

"Why is there a faucet for water if we're camping?" asked Inuyasha as he turned the faucet on and let the water flow into the pot.

"Don't be stupid," Miroku said. "You're the one who reserved the space. You should've checked beforehand if this camping site has these type of things."

"How should I know?" asked Inuyasha in slight irritation. "It's not like the person described this campground."

"Then how did you know to get this camp site?" asked Kagome, taking the pot from Inuyasha and putting it over the fire.

"I just asked for a campground with a fishing area nearby," Inuyasha said. "And isn't that going to take a long time to boil?" asked Inuyasha, pointing at the pot over the fire.

"Yes, but there's nothing else we can do," Sango said.

"Actually, I have one of those electric plate things," Miroku said, going to his backpack and taking out the said item.

"Okay, why the hell are we camping if everyone is bringing stuff like this from home?" asked Inuyasha. "Ramen, fine. We might not have caught anything and that's no reason to go hungry. But a portable electric stove? Miroku, what the fuck's wrong with you?"

"I don't see any reason why I have to suffer just because you refuse to use modern technology," Miroku replied calmly.

"You're the idiot who suggested we **go** camping!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Ah, excuses, excuses," Miroku yawned lazily.

"Why you…" Inuyasha started, but Kagome cut him off.

"Are we going to boil the water using the fire or what?" asked Kagome.

"Feh! Do whatever you want. I don't care," Inuyasha said, sitting down near his backpack and crossing his arms. Kagome just rolled her eyes at his actions. She was used to actions like these in the past, so it didn't faze her that much anymore.

They had been hopelessly lost for hours now.

Miroku had suggested a little hiking trip to make things more interesting and the first thing that went wrong was Sango slipping and twisting her ankle. Miroku had offered to carry her, and surprisingly, Sango had not refused, getting Inuyasha and Kagome to raise their eyebrows at each other. But after a few minutes, Miroku could no longer carry her, so Inuyasha had ended up carrying her for a couple of hours now.

"My muscles are going to be so sore tomorrow," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Sorry," Sango apologized.

"It's Miroku who should be sorry," Inuyasha snorted. Both Miroku and Kagome were too tired to comment. Kagome was a bit impressed that Inuyasha was able to carry Sango for this long, but she realized that he **was** a youkai, even if he didn't have any youki.

"I think we've been here before," Miroku said.

"We found the trail back to camp?" asked Kagome excitedly.

"No, we've just been walking around in circles," Miroku answered.

"What?!" all three of them yelled at him.

"Miroku, you LOSER!" Inuyasha shouted at him, almost dropping Sango.

"I got exited over nothing," Kagome sighed, disappointed.

"Maa maa," Miroku said, trying to calm the group down. "Don't get mad, get glad." The three glared daggers at him.

"And what, exactly, do we have to 'get glad' about?" Inuyasha said, straining to control his temper and not hit Miroku.

"Look at the sun," Miroku said, pointing to the sky. "The sun always sets in the west, and since I remember that the sun was somewhat in back of us when we first started out our little escapade, that means that we were walking west of our camp. So, all we have to do now is walk to opposite direction of the sun in order to get back to our camp."

"What makes you think that we were even walking in a straight line?" asked Inuyasha, still irritated with Miroku. The group fell silent with this realization.

"We'll never find our camp again!" Sango said in despair.

"Don't worry, we'll just camp out like we did in the Sengoku Jidai," Kagome said, looking dubiously at her surroundings, which weren't exactly made for sleeping on.

"Or, someone could just climb a tree and tell us where we are," Inuyasha suggested. Everyone looked at him. "What? You're not suggesting me to climb the tree are you?"

A while later, Inuyasha was at the top of the tree, grumbling while his three companions looked up at him from below.

"Do you see anything?" asked Miroku.

"Shut up, shithead," Inuyasha grumbled, shielding his eyes from the rays of the setting sun. He saw the familiar triangular shapes of the tents surrounding a campfire that had gone out. "It's over there," he said, pointing.

"So we would have gone the wrong way if we had followed Miroku," Kagome said, giving Miroku a critical eye. Miroku just smiled nervously. Inuyasha got down from the tree.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Inuyasha, "Let's go."

"Wait," Sango said before Inuyasha picked her up. "Did you hear something?"

"N—" Inuyasha was about to reply when a youkai suddenly appeared from the woods behind them.

"Let's make this easy," the youkai said, looking at Inuyasha. "Give me your blood, and we can avoid any unnecessary injury."

"What?! No way!" Inuyasha shouted at the scorpion youkai before him.

"You're the same youkai as from the other day!" Kagome said, gasping.

"Ah, the miko," the woman smirked. "Don't worry, I'll kill you later." Suddenly the youkai attacked Inuyasha, using her single left arm to try and grab him. Inuyasha moved away quickly.

"Stupid boy. Don't move around so much," the youkai said, bringing her tail around and knocked Inuyasha against a tree.

"Inuyasha, come towards this side!" Miroku shouted, his hand on his prayer beads. Kagome and Sango were already behind him.

"Oh no you don't," the youkai said, using her tail to separate the group. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" She turned to Inuyasha, who was looking for some type of weapon to fend her off with. "Don't move, boy, and I'll make sure this is as painful as it can be."

She brought the sharp end of her tail towards Inuyasha, but he ducked and plunged a long branch into the place where the tail was jointed. The youkai screamed, cursing Inuyasha as she tried to get the branch out. Inuyasha ran towards Miroku, but he wasn't fast enough for the youkai turned around and dug her hand into his chest.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. She saw a hole the exact same place as the wound the centipede lady gave her when she first discovered the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha collapsed on the ground, bleeding, but still conscious.

"I'll need more than this," the scorpion youkai said, getting ready to draw more blood from Inuyasha. Her tail was wrapped around a flask, ready to collect the blood. Suddenly the blood on her hand started to glow with an iridescent light.

A large piece of the Shikon no Tama formed in her hand.

**Author's Note: **What if I told you that I was never updating again? Just kidding! I would never do that to you! (Maybe. Heh heh.)

I haven't even started writing the next chapter yet, and with school and TONS of homework, I don't think I can get it out by tomorrow. The next chapter will probably come out on Friday afternoon or at night. Maybe. (By the way, I'm talking about California time.)

To respond to:

Kitsune-greenleaf: Toutousai **might** make an appearance. I might need him to explain something…

Artemis: Guess what? I've never even seen a bow in my life, much less shoot an arrow!

Shades of grey: Lucky! You've taken archery?

foureyedbookworm: My school started 09/04/02. And Musashino will sort of fall for Kagome, but then, something will happen…

Naatz: I agree with you about school.

Well then, till next time!


	29. Disappearing Shards and Memories

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Disappearing Shards and Memories**

            "Shikon no Tama?" asked the scorpion lady as she saw the piece of the Shikon no Tama form in her hand. Inuyasha was just as surprised as the youkai. How did the jewel get into **him**?            He looked at the wound on his body, eyes widening in surprise as he saw the blood glowing.

            "The Shikon no Tama," the youkai laughed. "Finally, I have a piece of you."

            Inuyasha doubted that what the woman held was indeed a shard of the Shikon no Tama. For one thing, the shard was semi-transparent, and for another, why would the jewel be in him? According to Kagome and the others, the jewel initially appeared in **Kagome**, not **him**.

            "Isn't that Naraku's Shikon shard?" asked Kagome, gasping in surprise.__

_            Naraku? That's right. Naraku received the shard from Kikyo, after she stole it from Kagome,_ Inuyasha remembered painfully. _What? How do I know this? They didn't tell me about this…_

            "Give it back!" shouted Kagome at the youkai, who was about to swallow the shard.__

_            It's mine. I want it. No, I **need** it._

            Inuyasha looked up at the youkai. He heard his friends gasping in surprise and he knew why. A wisp of wind blew lightly in the afternoon sun, whipping his hair around his face. His hair. It was silver. He knew that his eyes had returned to their original golden color. But he didn't want it. He didn't want any of this.

            The semi-transparent Shikon shard suddenly disappeared from the youkai's hands, transforming back into a pool of glowing blood. The blood dripped from the youkai's hands as she screamed in frustration at losing the Shikon shard, turning back to a blood red color, no longer glowing.

            "I'll kill you!" the youkai shouted, charging at Inuyasha. He looked at her coolly, no fear in his eyes, almost as if he would rather welcome death than live.

            "Sankon Tetsusou!" he shouted, swiping her with his claws. He knew the others were surprised that "Musashino" knew this attack, but they shouldn't have been. After all, it was "Inuyasha" that was attacking now, not "Musashino."

            "Brat!" the youkai spat, nursing her injury. She had dodged his attack in the last minute and so was only injured at the shoulder.

            "I would have escaped while I still could, Baa-baa," Inuyasha said coldly, getting up from the ground. "Now, you'll die." With that, he leapt up from the ground and performed another claw attack, slicing her across her body. She backed off just in time so that her vital organs weren't hit.

            "The only one who's going to be dying will be you," hissed the youkai, transforming into a giant scorpion. She brought her poisonous tail down on Inuyasha, hoping to slice the boy down the middle.

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha dodged the attack easily.__

_            This life is no longer mine. I died five hundred years ago. I promised myself that I would not live again. I refuse to live that life. I refuse to know, to remember, to feel what I have felt again._

_            I will die so that "Musashino" can live._

            The scorpion youkai pounced on him, pinning him down under her numerous legs. His eyes flashed purple, and in a moment, all traces of his youkai heritage disappeared. Suddenly the youkai started screaming in agony, backing away from the now "human" boy.

            Musashino was on the ground, unconscious, but his was glowing with a strange light. An invisible wind seemed to go towards him, seeming to be sucked into him. The scorpion youkai desperately tried to get away from the boy, but was failing. Her youki was being consumed by the boy in vast amounts, and she knew she would not last any longer. Suddenly, she transformed into a normal sized scorpion, all youki gone, life leaving the small body. She knew now why her master had wanted to control the boy. The boy had the power to drain youkai of every last bit of their youki, killing the youkai. A weapon such as that was indeed beneficial to her master. She cursed him for never telling her of the boy's full potential, but most of all, she cursed herself with the last of her breath for being a fool, and trusting those that should not be trusted.

            Sango saw the exchange between Inuyasha and the scorpion youkai take place, and was surprised of the outcome. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened, but she knew that it couldn't be good. She saw Kagome rush to the unconscious Inuyasha's side, hesitating to shake him in case he had any injuries, but worry for him overriding any caution.

            Sango limped there, not wanting to further irritate her ankle. Miroku walked next to her, always by her side so that if she stumbled or tripped, he would be there to help her. They both reached Inuyasha, and Miroku crouched down next to him, checking his pulse.

            "He's still alive," he said calmly, but Sango could detect concern and confusion from him.

            "I know," Kagome said, tears flowing out of her eyes as she tried to stop them. "I know. It's just that… It's just that…"

            "You're worried," Sango completed for her. The girl nodded.

            "Let's get him back to camp," Miroku said. "It shouldn't be too far from here." Sango knew that Miroku had no way of judging how far the camp was from this place, but she didn't say anything. Kagome had enough to worry about, and when Inuyasha came to, he would have a lot of questions to answer.

            Miroku picked up the heavy Inuyasha with the help of Kagome, and between the two of them, started carrying Inuyasha towards the direction of the camp. Sango followed behind them, favoring her twisted ankle. The group slowly made it back to camp, reaching the camp some time after the sun had finally set.

            He felt empty again. Like a part of him was missing. But he couldn't, for the life of him, remember what it was that he was missing. He didn't know if it was important. He didn't know if it was insignificant. He didn't know if it was just a dream.

            He felt himself start to float back to reality. It felt like he was going through a bog, every step he took tiring him out. But he knew he had to reach his destination, whatever that was. He knew that if he didn't cross this gap now, he may never will.

            Finally, he started to open his eyes. The sight that met him confused him. There were stars out in the night sky. He was surrounded by trees. Everything was so unfamiliar to him. He couldn't even comprehend where he was.

            "Inuyasha! You're awake!" a girl said, looking terribly relieved. She looked like she had been crying, her eyes were slightly puffy and red. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

            He searched for her in his memory banks, but came up with nothing. Who was this girl? Why was she talking to him, assuming that she was talking to him? He looked around him and saw that there were two others that were there, both of whom he did not know, or perhaps he did not recognize.

            "Excuse me," he said as politely as he could, just as his mother taught him. His mother…who? Why did he not have any memory of her? "Who are you?" he asked.

            He heard her gasp in surprise and the other two look at him in alarm. It wasn't unusual for a stranger to ask this question, was it? Then again, what if he wasn't a stranger? There were so many things missing from his mind right now, that he didn't know what to think.

            "You… You don't remember?" she asked. She looked so disappointed that it hurt him. He felt like he should remember, not for his own sake, but for hers. He couldn't stand people being sad because of him.

            "No…" he said with difficulty, feeling like he had disappointed her with this answer. "No, I'm afraid."

            "Inuyasha, are you sure?" the other girl asked. _Inuyasha? Who's that?_

            "My name is Musashino," he said gently, but firmly. "Hayashi Musashino. I don't know why you keep on calling me 'Inuyasha,' but I assure you, I'm not him." The three looked at him with shocked expressions. He felt incredibly guilty for declaring his true name, but they had to know.

            "Do you…know who I am?" asked the boy who looked like he was somewhere around his own age. Was he supposed to know him?

            "No…" he said slowly, wracking his brain for any memory of the person standing before him. All he came up with were…nothing. Nothing, nothing, and more nothing. Something weird was going around here. Why would a person just walk up to a stranger and ask them if they knew him or her unless they had met somewhere? The person before him looked like he was serious about the question, so it was definitely not a prank. Then what? If he had met this person before, shouldn't he at least **feel** like he met him before?

            "Do you remember…?" started the girl with the really long hair. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Do you remember anything other than your name?"

            "What kind of question is that?" asked Musashino without annoyance. He really was curious. Was it really possible for him to lose his memory?

            "It's just that you don't remember us, and we're your friends, so I was wondering if there was anything else that you forgot," the girl said, sitting down on the ground. He saw that her ankle was slightly swollen and wondered how that happened.

            "I don't think I forgot anything else," he said, sounding unsure himself. _Other than the fact that I don't remember a thing about my mom, and I don't know who any of these people are, and I don't remember how I got here, I'm pretty sure I remember everything else, _he thought to himself sarcastically. But he wasn't going to start declaring that to the world. He didn't even know if he could trust these people yet, even if they did seem concerned about him. The first girl he might be able to trust, but he wasn't sure about the other two. He wondered why he felt that way.

            He frowned, looking at the girl whom he had first seen when he woke up. There was something about her. Something in him kept on warning him about her. He felt like he could trust her, but then he also felt that if he did get to know her, something bad would happen. He didn't know where the feeling came from, or why he was feeling that way, but that was how he felt. He wondered if he was going crazy, or if he had fallen into one of those parallel universes that people were always talking about.

            "Do you know the name of your parents?" asked the boy.

            "My parents are Hayashi Hikaru and Hayashi Tamako," Musashino said confidently. _All right. At least I remember their names. Now all I need is a face to go with them, or maybe an event or something._ He tried to think of anything that might have involved his parents, but his mind drew a blank. _Why can't I remember what my own parents did? For that matter, why can't I remember what I did with them? Wait a minute… I don't even remember most of my life!_

            "How about your sister?" asked the same person.

            "My—my sister?" he asked, not remembering anyone who was his sister. Did he really have a sister? _Wait a minute. Yes, I did. She has silver hair like…like me? No, I have black hair. Wait, how did she get silver hair? Hold on… My grandfather has silver hair. That's right! My grandfather is a youkai! That's why my sister has silver hair like my grandfather. But wait. Why can't I even remember what color hair my parents have?_

            "Your sister, Rin," the person said, obviously getting worried with his answer. "All right, maybe that was a bit difficult since she is a bit young so probably doesn't have that great an impact on your life. How about…your godfather? Do you remember him?"__

_            Godfather? What the hell? I don't remember any trace of a godfather. Then again, about the only person that I can actually recall right now is my grandfather, so I can't really say if I do have a godfather._ He shook his head to answer the boy's question.

            "What do you remember from your life?" asked the boy. Musashino felt that the boy knew more about his life than he did. But how could he? He started to feel very frustrated. Why, or actually, how would a person know about his life? _It's not like—okay, you know what? Never mind. Who cares if I knew him or not. What I want to know right now is what the fuck's going on, and frankly at this point, I don't really care if the answer I get comes from dog shit._

            He remembered that if his mother ever caught him talking like this, she would give him such a punishment. _Mom doesn't like me using "bad words'"? Okay, that's an improvement. I remembered that she dislikes cussing. Great. That doesn't really help me that much._

            "I come from a pretty good family. My grandfather owns a dojo where he teaches all sorts of martial arts, namely ones that involve weapons," he started, and found that he really couldn't remember much more beyond that. "Um, I think I live somewhere near a shrine. Yeah. And um… I don't know," he concluded, feeling like an idiot. What kind of person wouldn't remember anything from their past? He didn't get amnesia, did he? He didn't have any injuries, did he?

            He started to check himself for injuries, and found that there was a hole in his shirt near his stomach. It was weird. The area around the shirt was covered in blood, yet there was no apparent wound in him.

            "I guess your youkai blood temporarily released to heal you, then disappeared again," the boy said. "Though I don't know or understand why…"

            "Huh? Youkai?" asked Musashino, wondering how did he know about youkai.

            "What? You don't even remember what a youkai is?" asked the boy.

            "I remember. It's just that I was wondering how you knew about them," he replied.

            "If you had your memories, then you would know," the person said quietly. Musashino didn't question him anymore. He stood up and took a look at his surroundings. Forest. Tents. Campfire. These people must have been camping, and he was going to take a wild guess by assuming that he had been camping with them when he suddenly lost his memory.

            "So, if we're out here camping, then we might as well have some fun," he said suddenly, surprising the other three. "I'm mean, the reason we're here is to have fun, right? So why not take advantage of the situation?"

            "What about your memories?" asked the girl with the long hair.

            "Well, it doesn't look like I'm going to remember anything anytime soon, so might as well party before my memory and conscience catch up to me, eh?" he joked. "No point in wasting time sitting around asking questions when we can do so many other things. Besides, frankly, you guys are depressing me. What with all your sad faces and worried questions. Really, you should learn how to lighten up."

            The just looked at him in silence, each trying to puzzle him out. He just didn't make sense as a person. Shouldn't he be even a little worried about the entire condition?

            "Let me guess. Being happy is better than being sad or grumpy all the time, right?" asked the boy.

            "How **did** you know?" he said in a fake shocked voice. Then he grinned childishly. "Actually, that really is my motto. So let's all follow it and have some fun with whatever time we have left! The moon has yet to rise to midnight, and the sun has yet to shine, so let's do what we came here to do."

            The others just looked at each other uncertainly. Their friend had definitely gone crazy. What person in their right mind would ignore such a grave problem as this?

            "Whatever," Musashino said when the others didn't move. "I'll just go fishing. It doesn't matter if I don't catch anything, right?"

            "Uh, right," Kagome said, breaking out of her shock. "We have ramen."

            "Oh, goody!" he answered to her bit of information enthusiastically. "I'll just go now then."

            "It's at night. You won't see anything," the boy said.

            "Did you know you are really pessimistic?" he asked. "It's bad for you. You should see the best of every situation. It's at night, so I can't see the little fishies, which means, they can't see me either. See what a great deal this is?" And without another word, he marched off towards the direction of the lake.

            The three stood stunned for a few minutes before their brains engaged again. They were unsure of what to do now. Did they take his advice and "party" or did they try to help their friend?

            "Hey, did you notice that he went towards the correct direction of the lake?" asked Sango. The other two looked at her in surprise.

            "That's true…" Miroku said, his mind trying to provide a logical explanation.

            "Maybe that just means he has a better sense of direction than Miroku does," Kagome said, wondering out loud.

            Miroku coughed embarrassedly.

            Kagome walked to the lake, the high moon's reflection swimming on the surface of the lake. She saw Inuyasha there, sitting with his back against the tree, the fishing pole lying forgotten by his side. He appeared to be asleep, and his breathing was deep and regular. She sat down next to him, hugging her legs. It was a cool night, but she wasn't cold. At least, not yet.

            She sat there, looking across the lake, the silver moon reminding her of times long gone. She sighed, cradling her head in her arms, closing her eyes. In the moment of stillness, she felt something come out of Inuyasha. She turned to him, concentrating on the feeling. Yes, she was right. There was something definitely coming out of him, even if it was coming out slowly and at steady intervals.

            Kagome couldn't place the feeling. It was something that was familiar to her, but something was slightly different about it. This one didn't feel as reassuring. This one felt slightly foreign to her, although she had encountered it before.

            She sat up straight and realized what it was. The thing that she was feeling was youki coming from Inuyasha. But it wasn't his own youki. It was the scorpion youkai's youki. She wondered what that meant. Did Inuyasha really absorb the youkai's youki to their death? And why was the youki coming out of him right now?

            "Hey, Kagome," he said suddenly startling her. Did he just say…?

            "Yeah. I remember everything now," he said, yawning. "I guess a good nap was all I needed," he joked.

            "Inuyasha!" she said, chiding him for joking on such a matter.

            "Yeah, yeah. 'That's not funny,' right?" he asked, grinning. She just smiled, glad that he was back to normal. Or, as normal as he could get, anyway.

            "You know," he started, looking at the lake. "You were right. The lake is pretty." Kagome had to stop looking at him in surprise. No matter how much they looked alike, they were not the same person. Inuyasha of the past would always be himself, and this Inuyasha would always be as he was. She had to stop comparing them to each other.

            "Oh," Kagome replied for lack of a better response.

            "But I was right, too," he said, this time really surprising her, not because Inuyasha of the past wouldn't have said it, but because **this** Inuyasha said it. She remembered the first time she had met him and he had asked her wasn't she honored to be a miko with special powers, then apologized when she had disagreed with him.

            "This lake is a thousand fold inferior to your beauty," he said. Kagome felt her heart quicken. Inuyasha would never have said something like this. _Stop comparing each other!_ she berated herself.

            "Th-thanks," Kagome stammered, a bit lost for words. Even Hojo had never said something like this.

            "I don't know about you, but the lake makes me feel lonely," he said quietly. "It's like it tells me of someone that I love, but can't have."

            "Yeah…" Kagome agreed with him, thinking of the Inuyasha from the Sengoku Jidai, dying without even giving her time to say anything, to prepare herself, to prevent him from dying.

            "I'm not going to forget this night," he said, sighing.

            "How do you know?" asked Kagome, thinking of earlier.

            "I would be a fool to forget such a beautiful night spent with an even more beautiful lady," he said, smiling gently at her. "Her kindness and grace alone would make me feel guilt and suffering if such a night should be forgotten."

            Kagome bowed her head in embarrassment, blushing crazily. How did this boy always manage to get this type of reaction from her?

            She looked at his profile, defined by the moonlight and wondered. Was she falling in love with Musashino?

            Sango had wandered a bit away from camp, finally stopping when she had reached the point where there was no more land to continue on. The moonlight showered the forest with a thin blanket of light, and she saw the illuminated treetops from her high position. Her ankle was really bothering her, but she decided to ignore it. She had come up here to relax, not to worry about a stupid ankle.

            She sighed trying to relax, but really failing. She had needed to get away from Miroku's presence. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She knew she loved Miroku, yet she was afraid to get too close to him. She didn't know if it was because she was afraid to lose another loved one in a battle against Naraku, or if it was because Miroku used to grope her all the time. She sighed, still standing there, knowing that sooner or later she would tire out and have to either head back or sit down. She didn't want to sit down, because she didn't know if she could get up again. When she had wanted to get up and leave the camp, she had needed Miroku's help, which had greatly embarrassed her. She would have asked Kagome or Inuyasha, but the two had gone off somewhere, and she had a feeling that they weren't going to return anytime soon.

            So here she was, trying to relax by standing. Great lot of help this was.

            She would probably be more affectionate towards Miroku if he could just prove to her that he could be nice and show that he loved her without groping her. Sure, he hadn't groped her in the last couple days, but he hadn't done much of anything else, either. He had tried to carry her, which hadn't really worked out that well, and he was there to help her get up and such, but he really hadn't showed her any **real** gestures of affection. He hadn't moved to hug her and **not** try to grope her. He hadn't done anything.

            She sighed, wondering if she should start heading back. She had left when she couldn't sleep, and now morning was about to come. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her.

            "So there you are," Miroku said, smiling at her. She nodded her acknowledgement of his presence. They stood there, side by side for a few moments, neither saying a word to the other.

            "I'm sorry," he said suddenly. She looked questioningly at him. He looked at her gently, smiling a true smile.

            "What for?" she asked.

            "I'm sorry that the first one you got from me was so clumsy," he said.

            "What?" Sango asked, utterly confused. He took a step closer to her.

            "I hope this will make up for my mistake earlier," he said. Sango was still confused when he leaned towards her, their lips gently embracing each other. She felt him put his arms around her, and she did the same, all doubts and worries gone. She felt the morning sun crawl over the forest, warming her cheeks. Whoever saw them would think that two angels were kissing in the morning sun, their form shining with light. Too soon, they broke apart.

            "Heh. When's the marriage?" a familiar voice said. The two turned to the voice, each blushing until they felt that their cheeks were on fire.

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome said, trying to frown at his childishness, but found herself smiling at the couple's new development of their relationship. This was how things should have been a long time ago.

**Author's Note:** This chapter was particularly hard to write. First off, I didn't know how exactly describe what happens to Inuyasha and his emotions, and right now I still don't think I did that great of a job. Oh well. The other thing was when I was writing the beginning of the chapter, things like biology, or English, or math kept on popping up in my mind, so that made it a bit difficult to concentrate. I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, though.

Thanks to Kitsune-greenleaf for providing the idea with the sunrise/sunset. It really helped me write the ending of the chapter. I wanted Miroku and Sango to move along already, but I didn't know what to do… Couldn't do the lake and water fight thingy because Inuyasha and Kagome are there, and nighttime is a bit late and dangerous for water fights, isn't it?

Wonder what's going to happen next? Your bet is as good as mine. I have the outline of the story, but I don't have any real details or events… I'm betting next chapter won't appear for a long time. (A long time to me equals two weeks.)


	30. Distance Between Hearts

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty: Distance Between Hearts**

            They had cleaned up the campsite and put everything back in their respective bags and such, and were now just sitting around, waiting for their ride to arrive. Miroku and Sango were dozing next to each other, and their backs were against a tree. Sango used Miroku's shoulder as a pillow, and his head rested on her head. They really did look like a couple at the moment, and Inuyasha couldn't resist taking a picture of them while they were like that. 

It had been really early in the morning when they had returned, and nobody had really felt like sleeping, so they had decided to pack up and get ready to leave. But packing had exhausted them, not to mention they had spent a majority of their time lost in the woods, so nearly everyone had fallen asleep as soon as they were done. Miroku and Sango just happened to fall asleep on the bottom of the same tree, and they just happened to fall asleep close to each other. Inuyasha grinned at their peaceful, sleeping faces. They would be so embarrassed when they woke up.

            He still wasn't tired, despite what had happened to him earlier. He poked at the fire with a stick, trying to remember what had happened. He had told the others that he remembered everything in his life, but he had been lying. It was true he remembered near everything that he should remember, but the one thing that he couldn't seem to recall was what had happened after he had gotten down from the tree.

            He sighed, causing Kagome to stir slightly. He looked at her, wondering if he had woken her up, but saw that she was still sleeping across from him, wrapped in a blanket. She too had been tired from the events of the day.

            He went back to trying to remember. He had jumped down from the tree, and then a youkai appeared. Kagome had said that the youkai was the same as the one who had given Miroku his air rip. She was a scorpion, he remembered. She attacked him for his…blood? That much he remembered, but after that, what had happened? Somehow the scorpion had disappeared, and from what he had gathered from his friends without directly asking them, **he** had been the one who destroyed the youkai.

            But how was that possible? He, the "youkai" who didn't have any powers, was able to defeat a full adult youkai? From what was said, and what went unsaid, he was going to guess that the youkai died because he had swallowed her youki, just like the other day when he was sucking up his sister, his grandfather and Onii-chan's youki. His family and friends might have thought that he had recovered quickly from that incident, but in truth, he was afraid. He was afraid of hurting them again.

            So why would someone take control of him, then come after him for his blood? It didn't really make sense. There were a lot of youkai out there who probably had blood tastier than his, so he was going to guess that the scorpion youkai had not come to drink his blood. Then what? Did she come to steal his blood so that she could perform a possession spell?

            He stopped poking the fire to think on that. Was that what the youkai had been after? But she was dead now, so he didn't have to worry about that anymore, right?

            He threw the stick he had been holding into the fire, closing his eyes against the light of the morning sun. Miroku had said that the person that he wanted to defeat was Naraku. Naraku had given Miroku his air rip in his past life, and had probably returned to give him the air rip again. Was it possible that the scorpion youkai had been sent by Naraku? Would that mean that Naraku was the one who had tried to possess him? But why? Just because he was his enemy in his past life? 

He wasn't even sure that he believed that. If he really was this person that his friends had known, then why couldn't he remember anything like they did? And if he was correct, didn't remembering your past life involve "remembering," not "forgetting"? Why was it that he couldn't remember what had happened in his past life, assuming that he did believe in this stuff, and ended up forgetting his present life? It was a rotten deal, if anyone cared to ask him.

            He opened his eyes again, looking at Kagome. Last night, right after he had found out that he couldn't remember most of his life, he had supposedly gone fishing. What he had wanted then was just to get away from those people and try to figure things out for himself. He had sat near the trunk of a tree, placing the fishing rod next to him, trying to piece what he could remember together, when he had suddenly felt something seem to squeeze his heart.

            Something had come out from him and was dragging him out of his body. He had been frozen in his spot as he felt some sort of power trying to pull him away, and he had felt his eyes start to droop with false drowsiness. No matter what he did, he couldn't fight whatever it was, and he had felt his body gradually "fall asleep," even as he tried to wake himself up. Then suddenly, the feeling disappeared, and he had "awoken" to find Kagome sitting next to him. With his awakening was the return of the memories that he had lost.

            He knew that Kagome was a miko and had great powers. From what his friends had told him the time he had gone to Kagome's house, he deducted that it must have been her purifying powers that had saved him last night. He knew that he could suck youki, and he knew that he had probably sucked the scorpion youkai's youki, so he guessed that the scorpion wasn't exactly pleased with him, and had tried to get revenge on him using the youki that he had taken from her. 

He remembered that his grandfather had once said that even though a youkai may have been dead for hundreds of years, if their youki still existed, then whatever spell they had used the youki for would still be there. He figured that since he had killed the scorpion youkai by consuming her youki, then her will was probably still behind her youki, even after she was dead, enabling her youki to do what she would have done had she still been alive.

He watched silently as Kagome started to wake up. _I should probably thank her for saving my life…nah. I'll seem too much of a wimp if I thank her. I don't even know if what I had felt that night was real. Imagine thanking someone just because they woke you from a bad dream._

"Good morning," Kagome yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning," Inuyasha replied, smiling. "I didn't make any breakfast since I figured we can all just eat out somewhere."

"Oh. That's a good idea," Kagome said, not yet fully awake. She turned her head and saw Miroku and Sango waking up. She smiled as she saw the couple realize how close they were to each other and move away from each other in embarrassment.

"Aww. I missed a Kodak moment," Kagome said, smiling at her friends' red faces.

"You may have missed it, but I didn't," Inuyasha said, grinning as the two gave him shocked looks.

"You have to give me a copy!" Kagome said, giggling at her friends' expense.

"No prob," Inuyasha said as they heard a car honking its horn. "Time to go!" He dumped the water in the bucket that was supposed to have been for the fish, putting out the fire, and then covering the remains of the fire with earth. He picked up his bag and the others followed his example, heading for the car and to home.

Kagome walked out of the shower, and started drying her hair with the blow drier. She finished drying her hair a few moments later and walked downstairs. Shippou and Souta were playing together, and Shippou was transforming them into animals. They were playing tag, but with a twist. Shippou tagged Souta and shouted out an animal, and Souta turned into whatever animal Shippou had called out. Then Souta had to run and tag Shippou, shouting out an animal that began with the same letter as the last letter of the animal Shippou called before, transforming Shippou into that animal.

"Raccoon!" Souta shouted, tagging Shippou with his tongue. He was an anteater. Shippou transformed into a raccoon and tried to tag Souta as Souta ran away. He eventually caught up to him and tagged him.

"Nightingale!" Shippou shouted, transforming Souta into the bird. It was Shippou's turn to run away, but Souta quickly flew to Shippou and pecked him lightly.

"Elephant!" Souta shouted. Shippou transformed into a miniature elephant.

"Tiger!" Shippou shouted, grabbing Souta using his trunk. There was a knock at the door, and the two immediately transformed back to their more presentable forms. Mrs. Higurashi went to get the door.

"Oh! Hello, Miroku," she said as she welcomed him inside. "What brings you here today?"

"I have some things I want to discuss with Kagome," he said politely, holding some sort of scroll in his arm.

"Of course. You two can use the living room. I'm working in the kitchen," Mrs. Higurashi said, heading for the kitchen. After she was gone, Shippou and Souta started their game again, and Kagome walked to Miroku.

"So what did you want to discuss?" asked Kagome.

"I believe I have just found a spell that may cause Inuyasha to remember his past life," Miroku said, showing her the scroll. Kagome looked at the scroll anxiously.

"What on earth does this say?" asked Kagome, trying to make out the characters on the scroll.

"They're ancient Chinese characters," Miroku said, walking to a table and spreading the scroll out. "It's titled 'Remember Lives Long Past.' The ingredients needed for the spell are quite common, and I believe we can pull the spell off before the end of the day."

"Wait. We're doing it today?" asked Kagome, feeling that this was rather abrupt.

"Yes. We need a piece of jade, some salt and pepper, and the subject that the spell is to be performed on. We also need some sake or any type of alcohol, really, and a piece of red string," Miroku answered. "Oh, we also need a staff that once belonged to a monk, but I'm sure your grandfather must have one."

"No," Kagome said, shaking her head. "Jii-chan doesn't have anything like that. But Sango-chan does."

"Sango?" asked Miroku, surprised.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you," Kagome said a bit embarrassed. "Sango-chan has your old staff as well as Hiraikotsu. Her ancestors had found them a long time ago."

"They did?" asked Miroku. "I guess we can just call her and ask her to bring it when she comes over."

"So we're really doing the spell?" asked Kagome, feeling slightly guilty. Musashino would soon remember that he was Inuyasha. She should have been glad, so why was she feeling so bad about it?

"I'll call Sango and Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Can I please borrow your phone?" Kagome pointed him to the phone and he started calling them. She would have been amazed that he had memorized their phone numbers, but she was too worried about Inuyasha. How would he be like once he remembered?

Kagome sat down on the couch, wondering what was wrong with her. Didn't she want Inuyasha back? Yes, she did, but she didn't want to lose Musashino either. She still wasn't sure about her feelings towards him, but she knew that he was a nice person, and it didn't feel right to force him to remember if he didn't want to. Sure, he acted like he really didn't care, but Kagome felt that there was a lot that this Inuyasha was hiding from her. He was similar to the old Inuyasha in that aspect, but other than that, the two Inuyashas had such different personalities that she was afraid of what would happen when they were both in the same person.

"Sango and Inuyasha both will be arriving here shortly," Miroku said.

Kagome acknowledged him with a nod. She kept on telling herself that the reason she didn't want Inuyasha to remember was because of his clashing personalities, but was that really the case?

She loved Inuyasha. She knew that much. She was willing to stand by his side, even when she knew her feelings of affection would never be returned. She was willing to do anything for him, take any risk for him. It always pained her whenever she saw Inuyasha get hurt because of her, and she always got angry at those who had hurt him, though they were usually dead by that time. She loved Inuyasha, and she would always love him, now and forever.

But Inuyasha was dead. He had died five hundred years ago. She smiled bitterly at herself. She was in love with the ghost of a five hundred year old half demon, one who insisted on pushing her away and chasing after the ghost of his dead girlfriend. She could never have him, even if he had given up on Kikyo. Time would separate them, either that, or death. She really was a fool.

She saw Souta and Shippou still playing their game, but she wasn't really watching them. Inuyasha was dead, and she should get over him and get on with her life. But she really couldn't. How could someone just forget the one they loved like that? And even if she did try to forget, what would she do once Inuyasha's memories returned? How could she forget someone who was so close, yet so far away from her?

Kagome heard the doorbell ring and dreaded to see who was at the other side. Musashino lived close to her, so no doubt he would be the first to arrive. She got up nervously and opened the door, trying to put on her happiest face.

"Hello, Inuyasha!" she said happily, but she couldn't help but feel saddened when she said the name. "Please come in."

"Thanks," Inuyasha replied, entering the home. "You okay, Kagome?"

"Huh? Yes… Why do you ask?" questioned Kagome, wondering if she was wearing her feelings for the whole world to see.

"You just looked a little down to me," Inuyasha said gently. "I just wanted to know if you're okay."

"You shouldn't be worrying about me," Kagome said, turning around, no longer able to look at his face. She felt tears threaten to flow from her eyes, but she suppressed them. _Why does he make me feel this way? I… I feel so happy, but so sad whenever I see him. I feel happy because…because… Because he's the part of Inuyasha that he always kept buried in the Sengoku Jidai. He's the part of Inuyasha that I saw beneath his rough exterior. But now… He wears his true feelings on the outside. There are no barriers. I should be happy. I **am **happy._

_But… I cannot forget the Inuyasha I knew whenever I look at him. He is everything that Inuyasha was and more. I… I love Inuyasha. I love Inuyasha but… Do I love…?_

She felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. She turned around, only to gaze into the deep lavender eyes of the one who reminded her so much of the one she had loved. The one who was stealing her heart with every little gesture that he made.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft with concern. She tried to bite back her tears, but was unsuccessful. She had never really thought about Inuyasha's death like this, until now. He was just gone so abruptly that she had busied herself with acting happy for her family so that they wouldn't be worried about her. She had acted normal and done routine things, telling herself that she was coping with his death, when she really wasn't.

To her, Inuyasha had only been gone on a small vacation. He had survived so many other things before that she couldn't believe that he could just die like that. He was dead. She knew that. But her heart kept on hoping, kept on dreaming of a future with him in it.

Until she met Sango. Sango brought reality to her. Sango taught her heart that her friends really were dead, and they wouldn't return again. Sango forced her to realize that Inuyasha was gone.

But then, Sango remembered. So Kagome's heart started constructing dreams again, dreams where Inuyasha would return as himself, acting like himself, looking like himself.

She never expected this to happen. In her dreams, Inuyasha was Inuyasha, but in reality… Inuyasha was not Inuyasha. They were only one in name. Musashino was Musashino. He wasn't Inuyasha. He could never be Inuyasha.

But now, Miroku had found a spell. A spell to return Inuyasha to her. Inuyasha the dead, would return full of life. Musashino the living, would forever be killed.

How could she just pretend that she was blind to the situation? How could she not feel the hurt from what was going to happen? She told Musashino that he shouldn't worry about her, but she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't bear this silence any longer.

"I'm worried," was all Kagome was able to say between sobs, her previous control slipping away, burying her face in Inuyasha's chest, crying. "I'm worried about you. I'm worried about what will happen. And… And…"

"And you're worried about what will happen to the Inuyasha that you knew, aren't you?" he asked. She felt a pang of guilt at his words. He sounded so sad. She looked up into his face, and she saw his eyes filled with disappointment and sadness. He didn't think that she didn't care about him, did he? He didn't think that she only cared about him because of Inuyasha, did he?

"I-Inuyasha… I…" Kagome started, wanting to put her arms around him, but found that she didn't have the courage to.

"It's okay," he said, starting to smile, his eyes closed…closed so that she couldn't see his emotions. "He'll be back soon. He would never abandon a great girl like you."

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said softly as she felt him pull away. _It's not like that. It's not like that… Inuyasha! You're wrong! It's not like that!_ She reached out to grab him, but the doorbell rang and he walked away from her to answer the door. In the few feet that he walked from her, she felt a great distance form between them, one that she wasn't sure if she could cross.

**Author's Note: **Yay! After one loooong week I've finally updated. I dunno… One week just seems to be a long time for me to update a story because I was practically updating everyday during the summer, but alas… Real life sucks.

I hoped you liked the chapter. It took me a really long time to write it, and something was supposed to happen in this chapter, but the chapter just got too long so I had to bump it into the next chapter. Next chapter: "A Spell Gone Wrong?"

By the way… Thanks for all the yummy reviews!


	31. A Spell Gone Wrong?

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-One: A Spell Gone Wrong?**

            "Okay, let's see…" Miroku said, looking at the instructions in the scroll and the star that they had drawn with sake on the ground. "Right. We make a circle with salt around the star. Then I'm supposed to tie the red string around the jade."

            "It's a good thing Sango was wearing a jade necklace," Inuyasha grumbled from the middle of the star. "You're such an idiot, Miroku. Can't believe you didn't think ahead of time and get all the ingredients before you called us here."

            Miroku just ignored him and tied the string around the jade while Sango and Kagome were making a circle of salt around the star. Shippou held the bottle of pepper anxiously, wondering if the spell was really going to work. If the spell worked, would that mean that Musashino would no longer want him as his "brother"? Would Inuyasha close himself up like he did in the past?

            "We're done," Sango announced as they finished the circle of salt.

            "All right, then," Miroku said as he dangled the jade from the red string in front of him. He took up his staff in his free hand and held it parallel to the string.

            "Shippou, are you ready?" asked Miroku. "Remember, cast the pepper as soon as I'm done chanting the spell."

            "Okay," Shippou said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He wasn't going to fail his friends in such an important task as this. Miroku nodded and began the spell.

            He chanted in a strange foreign language that sounded like Mandarin, but was slightly different. It sounded more ancient and powerful, yet was slightly mixed with Japanese. No one there knew what Miroku was saying and they all just hoped that Miroku knew what he was doing.

            Miroku finished off the chant, and Shippou quickly threw the pepper at Inuyasha, causing them both to sneeze. The ring of salt outside the star started to glow, and then the light faded, seeming to transfer to the star for the star started to glow. Soon, that light faded too, and the piece of jade that Miroku still held in front of him seemed to be pulled towards Inuyasha.

            Eventually the jade was pulled so that the string was horizontal and taut, Miroku holding the string tight so that it wouldn't slip out of his hands. A strange mist came out of the jade and surrounded Inuyasha, obscuring him from view. A few minutes later, the jade fell back to its original position and the mist disappeared, leaving everything as it was before. Well… Almost everything.

            Inuyasha got down on all fours and started panting like a dog. They all looked in shock as Inuyasha cocked his head slightly to one side and let out a soft whine. Shippou saw Kagome turn to Miroku, something dangerous flashing in her eyes.

            "What did you **do**?!" she all but screamed. Shippou was afraid of her at that moment. What if it was **he** who had messed up the spell? He watched Kagome nervously as she started yelling at Miroku and telling him to reverse the spell. He didn't notice Inuyasha next to him until Inuyasha nudged him in the chest softly with his head.

            Shippou turned to Inuyasha, worried with what he might have done to cause this accident. He saw Inuyasha cock his head to one side again, and Shippou was filled with guilt. Suddenly, Inuyasha winked at him. Shippou blinked in surprise.

            "What do you mean you can't reverse it?!" shouted Kagome, near out of her mind with what had just happened. 

            "There was no antidote in the scroll! This was supposed to work!" Miroku said, trying to keep his voice even. If it weren't for the memories of his past, he would have been running around screaming by now. _Maybe not "running around and screaming," but I definitely wouldn't be able to act as calm as I am now. I just turned by best friend into a dog, for crying out loud!_

            "The spell worked all right," Sango said, watching Inuyasha trying to coax Shippou to play with him. "It's just that none of us considered that his past life may have been a dog."

            "Miroku!" Kagome screamed. "Go back to the place where you found the scroll and look for an antidote!"

            Miroku mumbled something that shocked Kagome into silence for a moment. But it was only a moment.

            "You WHAT?!" she shouted. "How could you—of all the people—and I thought you were smart!"

            "What's wrong?" Sango asked, missing what Miroku had just said.

            "He got the spell from Jii-chan!" Kagome said, trying to take deep, calming breaths.

            "What's wrong with that?" asked Sango, a bit clueless.

            "Jii-chan can't even make a proper ward, much less make a spell that actually works!" Kagome said, clenching her fists. "Honestly, Miroku was better off inventing the spell by himself than getting it from Jii-chan."

            "I'm sure your grandfather can at least file the spells his has collected correctly," Sango said, trying to comfort Kagome. "I mean, it would only be logical to assume he didn't invent such an ancient spell as this by himself."

            "Sango is right," Miroku said, glad that Sango was somewhat helping him. "You should have more faith on your grandfather."

            Kagome gave him a shrewd look.

            "How long did it take you to find the scroll amidst Jii-chan's other junk?" Kagome said.

            "Ah…Herm… That is…" Miroku started, smiling nervously.

            "I knew it!" Kagome shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Miroku. "You only found it by digging it out! You don't even know if the spell is genuine!"

            "Well it did something, didn't it!" Miroku said, raising his voice.

            "Yeah! Turned him into a freak!" Kagome yelled.

            "That's a bit harsh, Kagome-chan," Sango said, trying to calm her raving friend.

            Kagome turned around and was about to say something to Sango when she felt something brush against her leg. It was Inuyasha. His eyes were looking at her with such innocence that she felt even worse than she did before. If the situation were not so dire, she would have said that the expression on his face was rather cute. She bit her lip, her heart twisting to see his transformed thus, and she knew that she had to do whatever it took to get him back again.

            "Inuyasha, let's go!" Shippou said to Inuyasha, gesturing for him to come inside the house. Kagome thought that Shippou was sure handling the situation well. At least he wasn't acting as if everything was his fault anymore. As soon as the pair entered the house, Kagome turned to Miroku.

            "What are we going to do?" she said tiredly.

            "We can always search for an antidote," Miroku said, looking at the shrine's storage room where he had gotten the spell. Kagome nodded her consent.

            A few hours later, they had re-entered the house, exhausted and unsuccessful. Shippou, Souta, and Inuyasha had all disappeared off somewhere, and Kagome didn't have to energy to try to explain to a dog mind that this change may be permanent.

            "Who's going to call his mother to explain what happened?" asked Sango, noting that it was sunset already. Kagome looked at Miroku while he was busy studying the pattern on the wall.

            "Miroku?" suggested Kagome, not feeling that she was really up to calling Inuyasha's mother.

            "No," he said firmly. The two girls looked at him in curiosity. Was Miroku trying to worm his way out of his responsibility?

            "What did you say?" asked Sango, not sure if she heard right.

            "I would rather lie to his mother about what happened than tell her the truth," Miroku said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "You don't know her as well as I do. If anything happened to her baby boy, someone's going to die."

            "If you just explain it to her, I'm sure she'll understand," Sango said reasonably, but Miroku shook his head.

            "It took her near five hundred years to conceive a child, and now we've just messed her kid up. How do you think she's going to feel?" asked Miroku, trying to calm his nerves. If Inuyasha's mother ever found out, he was as good as dead.

            "Well, maybe she'll—" Kagome started, but was cut off by Inuyasha.

            "Listen, this has been fun an'all, but I've really got to go home," Inuyasha said perfectly in the human tongue. He wasn't down on all fours anymore, either.

            "Huh? Inuyasha?" asked Kagome, stunned that he wasn't a dog anymore. What was going on?

            "What?" Inuyasha asked, as if though the events of the day were perfectly normal.

            "Why aren't you a dog?" demanded Miroku, equally confused about the entire business.

            "Oh, that," Inuyasha replied as if that incident was of no importance. "I was just pretending."

            There was a brief silence before…

            "WHAT?!" all three of them shouted at him.

            "C'mon, you have to admit, it was pretty funny," Inuyasha said, grinning. "You guys were all frantic about nothing."

            "Inuyasha…" Kagome said warningly, wanting to beat some sense into him.

            "Inu-nii-chan, when is the next time you're coming to help us beat 'Onimusha'?" asked Souta.

            "Maybe next weekend," Inuyasha replied. Kagome couldn't take it anymore.

            "How can you just act as if nothing has happened?!" she yelled at him. "Do you know how worried I was for you? I thought that you had really become a dog!"

            "You needed a smile, Kagome, and later, you'll think back on this and realize how ridiculous and funny this entire thing was," Inuyasha grinned. Kagome couldn't suppress her anger anymore.

            "BAKA!!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. She couldn't believe that he had done all of that just for… just for… She ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door shut. She collapsed on the bed. _I can't believe how stupid Inuyasha is,_ she grumbled to herself. _Pretending to be a dog… He had me so worried._ Then she remembered the "innocent" face she had seen on him when he had first "transformed." How could she have mistaken that twinkle in his eyes for innocence? He was playing with her all along…

            But despite the anger and embarrassment Kagome felt because of Inuyasha, she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

            "Stupid Inuyasha," her mouth said, but her heart said otherwise.

            Mrs. Hayashi pulled the needle in and out of the cloth she was sewing rhythmically. Suddenly, she heard a word echo through the city.

            "BAKA…

baka…

baka…" a female voice had shouted. 

Mrs. Hayashi smiled lightly and continued weaving the cloth, reminding herself to add certain patterns to the cloth to better reveal the wearer's beauty. After all, she didn't want the one person that her son was going to marry to look anything less than beautiful when she appeared in front of the other youkai this coming weekend.

            He narrowed his eyes dangerously. So the fool was going off with his own foolish plans. It didn't concern him. However…should that idiot do anything to jeopardize **his** plans, he was going to pay.

            "It looks like I'll have to keep a closer watch on him," he mused to himself. Well, if that imbecile's plan worked, it would make his own plan that much easier to carry out.

            "Tono-sama, the trace spell is ready," the servant said to him.

            "Then let's start," he said, a cold smile crawling up his face.

            Kagome nearly leapt with joy when she saw that she had gotten a 96.5% on her test, but Inuyasha had ruined her moment to shine by getting more than a perfect score on the test.

            "105%! How is that even possible?" asked Sango as she stole a peek at Inuyasha's paper.

            "I just got the bonus right," Inuyasha said, shrugging it off.

            " 'Just got the bonus right'! You didn't even miss any of the other problems!" Kagome said, looking at his paper in disbelief.

            "This is just a fluke," Inuyasha said, turning his paper over so that no one else would see his score.

            "Too bad this is a fluke that happens too often," Miroku sighed, looking at his own paper. "And to think that you didn't even study for this test…" He sighed again. "I got a lower score than you again."

            "Oh? What did you get?" asked Kagome, snatching Miroku's paper and looking at it. Her jaw almost fell open.

            "100%!" Sango all but shouted. "What are you complaining for?!"

            "I got a lower score than Inuyasha again… How embarrassing…" Miroku said, laying his head on his desk.

            "How is that embarrassing?" Inuyasha asked, wondering what his friend was talking about.

            "Inuyasha wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in our group," Sango explained to him. "Although, I sometimes think that it wasn't all an act…" Kagome and Miroku looked at Sango curiously, wondering what she meant.

            "Hmm…" Miroku said, looking at Inuyasha as if he was trying to analyze him.

            "What?" Inuyasha said, irritated with Miroku's weird stare.

            "You do seem a bit too smart to be Inuyasha's reincarnation," Miroku said, contemplatively.

            "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

            "Either he gained some brains in five hundred years, or he really was pretending," Miroku mused out loud.

            "Huh?" Inuyasha questioned, wondering what they were talking about. But they all had such pensive expressions on their face that he decided not to question them. He didn't want to interrupt whatever important thoughts they were thinking of just for the sake of his own curiosity.

            They were sitting around the same table in the cafeteria, but Kagome's three friends were strangely absent. Miroku started munching on his bag of chips while Sango and Kagome were busy eating their lunch. Inuyasha had finished the entirety of his lunch in the five minutes that it had taken them to get to the cafeteria and was now working on his homework.

            "Kagome!"

            Kagome turned around and saw her three friends running towards her.

            "Kagome! Hojo-kun's birthday is coming up! And he's having a birthday party!" her friend squealed in delight.

            "And he's given us all invitations!" her other friend said.

            "Here's one for you, Kagome," her third friend said, handing her an envelope. "And one for you, Sango," she said, giving Sango an envelope, too.

            "So, Kagome, are you going to go?" asked her three friends in unison.

            "Well…" Kagome started, looking at Inuyasha and Miroku.

            "Oh, I get it…" one of her friends said. "You don't want to be with Hojo-kun when you have your own boyfriend now, right?"

            "Wha-what are you talking about?" asked Kagome, flustered. "It's just that I don't think it's fair that Inu—err, Musashino and Miroku didn't get invitations, too."

            "Oh, we got invitations," Inuyasha said, looking up briefly from his homework.

            "Huh? Since when?" asked Sango.

            "He gave it to us this morning," Miroku replied.

            "Are you going?" questioned Sango.

            "Yup. We're not allowed to miss a friend's birthday," Inuyasha said, going back to his homework.

            "Huh? Friend?" asked Kagome, wondering why she had never noticed all this before.

            "We had to do a project together so we all know each other," Miroku supplied the answer for Kagome. "We're not the closest of friends, but we're okay with one another."

            "See, Kagome? They're all going, so are you?" her friends asked her again.

            "Well…"

            "Come on! There'll be dancing and everything! You have to come!" her friends pleaded with her.

            "Fine," Kagome sighed in resignation as her friends walked happily off to help Hojo give other people his invitations.

            "Aww, man," Inuyasha grumbled. "Dancing."

            "Is something wrong with that?" asked Sango. All she got was a growl in reply.

**Author's Note: **"Onimusha" is a game on PS2, just in case you didn't know. "Tono-sama" is just for "lord," in case you didn't figure it out, but I bet you already knew that, didn't you?

The chapter's a little bit shorter than the previous ones, but I hope that's okay… School's just been giving me a hard time. I'm thinking that the only time that I'll be able to write this story is during the weekends now, so I'll probably update during Saturday or Sunday. Would it be easier for you if I emailed you about any updates? Please give me your opinion. If you want me to email you, please leave your email on the review, or send it to me at celadonserpent@yahoo.com. If you don't give me your email, then I won't contact you and you'll just have to find out about any updates by yourself.

Thanks to all you regular readers! It makes me happy to know that some people are still keeping up with this story, even though it's more than two hundred pages by now. (You guys are amazing to have read so far!)

Love y'all always! Next chapter's for you!


	32. Dance and Death

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Dance and Death**

            Kagome walked down the steps slowly, looking towards Inuyasha's house. It was already Friday, the day of Hojo's party. Inuyasha had never exactly said that he was going to go to the party with her, but she was kind of hoping that he was. She looked towards the direction of his house, but saw no one. She sighed softly. _I guess I'll just have to go alone this time…_

            "Oi, what's with the long face?" someone asked suddenly. Kagome turned around and saw Inuyasha standing next to her. He had been standing the opposite direction of where she had been looking all along.

            "What are you doing here?" Kagome blurted out, trying to hide her embarrassment.

            "Thought we could go to Hojo's together, you know?" he asked, starting to walk in front of her.

            "Oh," she said feeling stupid. _Well, at least we can go together,_ Kagome thought to herself as she walked a bit faster to catch up with him.

            After crossing a couple streets, they finally arrived at Hojo's house, the music from the party inviting them in.

            "Hey! Kagome, Inuyasha!" Sango shouted as she and Miroku caught up to them.

            "Hello, Sango-chan. Miroku," Kagome smiled, feeling happy for the two. Suddenly she was shoved rudely to the side.

            "Hayashi," someone sneered. Kagome looked up angrily at the person who had shoved her aside. He looked to be about her age and had short black hair. If he hadn't been so rude, Kagome might have said that he was a bit cute. _Not cuter than my Inuyasha though. Never cuter than Inuyasha—Why am I thinking about this?! _ Kagome frowned at him. He looked strangely familiar.

            "Hiten," Inuyasha drawled, sounding bored. Kagome was surprised at the name. It was true. The boy in front of her did look incredibly like Hiten of the Sengoku Jidai. 

            "Kobayashi to you," Hiten said, narrowing his eyes in contempt at Inuyasha.

            "What do you want?" Inuyasha yawned, giving Hiten no respect. Kagome was a bit surprised with his actions.

            "I can't believe you're going to a **ningen** party," Hiten said with disdain. "Of course, you're not much better off than **them**." Kagome felt like beating his face in. Musashino wouldn't do anything about this insult. He wasn't the type.

            "I would be careful if I were you, **Hiten**," Inuyasha said dangerously, his voice cold as ice. Kagome looked in surprise at Inuyasha. She wondered if the person next to her was the new, "nice" Inuyasha that she had known for these past weeks.

            "What? You gonna run back crying to your mommy?" Hiten smirked.

            "Oh I'll do more than that," Inuyasha said, sounding hauntingly similar to Sesshoumaru. Kagome wondered briefly if having Sesshoumaru as a godfather was a good idea. "When I'm done with you, you'll wish that you were never born."

            "**You** try to kill **me**?" Hiten laughed. "You couldn't kill a flea demon with your power."

            "I won't try to kill **you**," Inuyasha said, seeming to be tired of him. "What's the fun in killing someone when you can torture them instead?"

            Kagome nearly bit her tongue with her surprise. Was this Inuyasha? She noticed that Sango looked shocked with Inuyasha's words too, but Miroku seemed to be taking it calmly.

            "Do you take me for a fool?" asked Hiten, trying to sound disdainful, but Kagome picked up a note of concern in his voice. Evidently, Inuyasha did too.

            "Didn't your mother recently bear a new child? A boy?" Inuyasha questioned in mock innocence. "I congratulate you on your new brother. Maten is his name, isn't it?"

            "What are you trying to get at?" Hiten said, all contempt gone from his voice. Now it was replaced with one of genuine fear, though he tried to mask it.

            "What are you trying to suggest?" asked Inuyasha. Hiten sneered weakly at him, then stalked off into the night.

            "I'm sorry that took so long," Inuyasha said, suddenly all smiles again. "It usually takes less than five minutes to chase him off." Kagome didn't know how to respond to that. He had done this type of threatening before? Maybe he wasn't exactly the nice guy that she had pictured him as before.

            "Let's go, the party has already started," Miroku said, walking in. Kagome pulled him back.

            "You go in first, Inuyasha. I have to speak with Miroku for a moment," Kagome said nervously, not quite sure as to how he would react to her weird actions.

            "Sure, whatever," Inuyasha said, opening the door and walking in. As soon as the door closed, Kagome turned to Miroku.

            "What just happened?" she demanded.

            "What?" asked Miroku innocently.

            "That innocent act is really getting old," Kagome scowled. "Now tell me what just happened with Hiten."

            "Oh, that little incident," Miroku said, shrugging nonchalantly. "That happens a lot. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

            "What do you mean it happens a lot?" asked Kagome.

            "Inuyasha threatening a youkai that can trounce him is normal?" asked Sango, flabbergasted.

            "Well, yeah," Miroku said, scratching his head, not quite sure what the girls were trying to suggest.

            "Why would he threaten someone if he doesn't even have the power to defeat them, let alone fight!" Kagome hissed, trying to keep her voice low so the other people who were going into the party wouldn't hear her.

            "What do you want him to do? Back down and let Hiten walk all over him?" Miroku said, slightly annoyed.

            "It's better than getting killed," Kagome retorted.

            "You're wrong," Miroku said. "Inuyasha has more at stake than just keeping himself safe. He is the sole heir to the Hayashi family. If he bows down to **anyone**, it would bring dishonor to the family and probably weaken their power."

            "What?! What does Inuyasha being safe have anything to do with power?" Kagome nearly shouted in fury.

            "You don't understand youkai politics at all!" Miroku said, getting angry himself. "You show weakness, you lose. And at this point in the game, if the Hayashi family loses, Naraku will get their claims."

            "What?!" Kagome and Sango asked in unison.

            "Naraku is the second strongest after the Hayashi family," Miroku said. "If they go down, he'll be the one with enough power to swallow up their claims." Sango and Kagome didn't know how to respond to that.

            "Ah! Higurashi!" a familiar voice said. The three turned around and saw Hojo there. "Miroku and Sango. What are you doing standing out here? Please, come in." 

The three followed him inside, Kagome still feeling uneasy about the incident from before. The house was blaring with music and Kagome wanted to stuff earplugs into her ears. She spotted Inuyasha sitting on the sofa while there were other people dancing in the space cleared out for that purpose.

"May I have this dance?" asked Hojo. Kagome blushed, not really knowing how to respond. _Well, it's not like I'm formally with Musashino, right? One little dance won't hurt…_

"Sure!" Kagome said as Hojo pulled her to the center of the "dance floor." The fast beat of the song kept Kagome moving, but she saw Miroku and Sango really cutting up the dance floor with their moves. And Sango looked so happy…__

_I wonder if I'll ever be happy like that…_

_Why do I even bother to dance with Hojo-kun? I don't even like him. I should be dancing with…with who? "Inuyasha?"_ She sighed.

"What's the matter?" asked Hojo.

"Hojo-kun, I…" _I don't really like you and I could care less about you? That's kind of harsh. What am I supposed to do?_

"What is it?"

"Hojo-kun, I'm sorry," Kagome apologized, stopping her dance with him. She really hated to tell him this on his birthday, but she already got the ball moving, so she might as well.

"Sorry for what?" asked Hojo. Kagome felt sorry for him.

"It's just that I…never…um…" Kagome started, not quite sure what to say. "I don't really…err…like you?"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry! It's just that I've never really liked you in that way. You're a nice person, but I just don't feel that way towards you!" Kagome blurted out in on quick breath. Hojo blinked at the sudden output of information.

"You've never really liked me?" he asked, looking a bit crushed. "Oh well. It's not like we really knew each other that well."

Kagome groaned. He wasn't going to suggest them to start to get to know each other, was he?

"If you don't want to go out with me anymore, that's fine," he continued. "We can still be friends. To tell you the truth, you're a great girl, Kagome, but you can be kind of flaky sometimes."

"Oh," Kagome said.

"So it's for the best, I guess," Hojo said, unfazed.

"Yeah…" _Why do I feel like **I'm** the one who's just been dumped?_

"Well, I have to go help my mom serve the cakes now. See ya later, okay?" Kagome nodded absentmindedly as Hojo walked off.

"That went well," Kagome grumbled. She turned to the sofa where Inuyasha was sitting before, but found that it was empty. Where did he go?

"Don't tell me **he** went off and found himself a new girlfriend too," Kagome grumped. _What am I saying? I'm not his girlfriend!_ Kagome decided that the lack of fresh air was making her woozy and found a sliding glass door that led to the backyard. She quickly stepped out into the night air, inhaling deeply. Finally, she was alone to collect her thoughts.

"What're you doing here?" She nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise.

"What are **you **doing here?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, who was sitting on a nearby chair.

"I asked you first," Inuyasha said childishly. Kagome sighed in exasperation.

"I came out here for fresh air," Kagome said. "And you?"

"Because I felt like it."

"That's not really a reason!" Kagome said, feeling cheated. _What was I hoping he would say? "I came out here because I got jealous of looking at you dancing with Hojo?" As if! That stuff only happens in fairy tales. Of course, it would be kind of nice…_

"Fine. Truth is, I can't really dance, and it's kinda annoying watching everyone around me dancing while I'm the only dope sitting on the sofa," Inuyasha said. "It's boring as hell, too."__

_Well, that was kind of close to what I had in mind,_ Kagome thought to herself, a bit disappointed that fairy tales weren't true.

"Do you want me to teach you how to dance?" asked Kagome.

"Do you want to have purple toes tomorrow?" asked Inuyasha.

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to get purple toes just by teaching you how to dance," Kagome said. "So try." Kagome pulled Inuyasha to his feet.

"Whatever you say, boss," Inuyasha said.

"Okay, stand in front of me and follow the pattern of my feet. Both of our feet should move at the same time. Are you ready?" asked Kagome. She wasn't quite sure what to do with her hands. In the movies, the guy and girl always held hands, but she wasn't about to grab Inuyasha's hands and start tangoing all over the place.

"Like this?" Inuyasha asked, not really sure of what he was doing.

"Good. Now I'll count and you just follow my feet," Kagome said. _This should be easy. I mean, how hard is it to teach someone to follow the pattern that your feet move? Granted this isn't really a real dance, but hey, no one's complaining._

"Okay. One, two—ow!" Kagome said as Inuyasha accidentally stepped on her foot. Good thing she hadn't decided to wear sandals today.

"Sorry," Inuyasha muttered. "Told you I'm not good at this."

"That's why you should learn how to do it right," Kagome said, rubbing her toes. "Now let's try again. One, two, three, one, two, three, one—ouch!" Kagome yelped as Inuyasha stepped on her foot again. "Are you purposely trying to step on my feet?"

"I told you you're going to get purple toes if you try to dance with me," Inuyasha said. "Don't you think I've tried learning how to do this? My mom insisted that I learn how to dance, and she tried to teach me, but after an hour of lessons, she claimed she wasn't going to be able to walk for a week!"

"Ah, well…"

"Let's quit while we're still ahead," Inuyasha said, about to walk away, but Kagome pulled him back.

"How can we be ahead if we haven't even made any progress?" she said angrily. "Now you're going to stand in front of me, and you're going to learn how to dance!" Inuyasha quickly obeyed. Kagome definitely was scary when she was mad.

"Now again! One, two, three, one, two, three…"

An hour later, Kagome was sitting on the chair that Inuyasha was sitting on, an ice pack on her feet.

"Oww…" Kagome groaned. She couldn't believe what a terrible dancer Inuyasha was. How hard was it to **not** step on someone's feet? She had told him that he could move his feet however he wanted, but then he **still** managed to step on her.

"Sorry about this," Inuyasha said, getting more ice from inside.

"It's my own fault," Kagome groaned. "I should have listened to your warning."

"Well, let that be a lesson to you," Inuyasha said in a fatherly tone.

"Shut up," Kagome said playfully. "I don't think I can even walk tomorrow."

"Well you better heal quickly because my grandfather just invited you to his birthday party tomorrow," Inuyasha said.

"What?"

"Miroku and Sango were invited too," Inuyasha said.

"Thanks to you, I won't be able to go," Kagome said, feeling a bit left out.

"If it makes you feel any better, you can use this to speed up the healing process," Inuyasha said, taking something from around his neck. It was a black, oval jewel.

"What's this?" Kagome asked.

"Illusion spell." Kagome was about to say something when Inuyasha cut her off. "Don't worry, I don't need it. Okaa-chan just wants me to keep it around as a precaution. You know I don't need it."

Kagome was about to protest when Inuyasha held the jewel by the chain and swung it once over Kagome's feet. The jewel suddenly disappeared and Kagome felt the stinging from her toes leave her.

"Huh?"

"Told ya it works," Inuyasha grinned. Kagome just rolled her eyes at him.

Kagome arrived at Inuyasha's house the next morning wearing a formal dress. She rang the doorbell, and tried not to look too nervous. The door swung open, revealing a respectable woman wearing a kimono.

"You must be Kagome-chan," the woman smiled kindly at her. "Welcome in. I'm Inuyasha's mother, Hayashi-san, as you have probably already guessed."

"Ohayoo gozaimasu," Kagome said, bowing respectfully, remembering the manners her mother taught her.

"Oh ho ho ho. What a polite girl you are," Mrs. Hayashi laughed. "I'm so glad Inuyasha chose right."

"Eh?" asked Kagome, confused.

"Oh, nothing… Please follow me. We're going to have to get you to change into a kimono before we leave," Mrs. Hayashi said. Kagome panicked. She didn't have a kimono!

"Uh…Um… Hayashi-san, I…"

"Don't have a kimono?" Mrs. Hayashi finished off for her. "Don't worry. I've already made you one!"

"Eh?" was all Kagome could respond to the strange woman. Why would she have made a kimono for her?

"It's so pretty, if I do say so myself," Mrs. Hayashi said. "Though the boys don't appreciate it."

They entered Mrs. Hayashi's room and Mrs. Hayashi closed the door behind her.

"Here, I'll help you dress the first time," Mrs. Hayashi said. Kagome suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Um… I can dress myself," Kagome said.

"I know, dear, but you can't possibly know how to put everything together," Mrs. Hayashi said. "Don't be shy. I've done this many times on Rin, so I know what I'm doing."

A few minutes later, Kagome appeared from the room, her hair pinned up, wearing a white silk kimono with blue floral patterns on it. Mrs. Hayashi had said that it brought the blue out of her eyes, and Kagome shyly agreed.

The two of them walked to the living room where sounds of a board game being played could be heard. Kagome entered the room and saw that Inuyasha was playing chess with Miroku, and it looked like Miroku was winning. Everyone in the room was wearing a kimono. The room quieted down with her appearance, and Kagome blushed deeply with all the attention.

"Kagome-chan, you look so beautiful!" Sango said.

"I must agree. You look stunning, Kagome," Miroku said, looking at her with new eyes. Sango glared at him, and he just grinned nervously.

"Thanks," Kagome blushed. She waited for Inuyasha to say something. It never came.

"Musashino!" his mother hissed in a warning tone.

"You look…nice," Inuyasha said. Kagome looked up and tried not to scowl at him. Why couldn't he just compliment her? Why was Inuyasha always difficult when it came to these kinds of things?

"Musashino…" Mrs. Hayashi growled.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm going to have to speak with you later, young man," she said.

"Leave him alone, Tamako," Mr. Hayashi said. "He is free to have his own opinions."

"He is not!" Mrs. Hayashi shouted. "I work so hard on it, and he doesn't even compliment on it, then I dress up his girlfriend, and he doesn't even compliment her!"

"Okaa-chan!" Inuyasha protested, turning red. Kagome felt her own cheeks heat up, too. What was Inuyasha's mother assuming?

" 'Okaa-chan' nothing! You're all unappreciative of me! I slave away all day and night for this, and none of you even give me a compliment!"

"Rin told Okaa-chan the kimono was nice," Rin said.

"Thank you, dear, but all the rest of you," she said, turning to her son and husband, "you're going to be so sorry—"

"Fine! Fine! She's more than just nice, all right?" Inuyasha shouted, standing up. "She's more than beautiful. The kimono you made really brings out her inner beauty, and makes her outer beauty shine even more! Are you happy now?"

"I'm not happy if you're not sincere!" Mrs. Hayashi said.

"I **AM** sincere!" Inuyasha said. "I am so sincere I couldn't be more sincere!"

"You don't seem sincere to me," Mrs. Hayashi said, getting all teary-eyed.

"Okaa-chan, don't cry!" Inuyasha said desperately. "The kimono looks great on her, all right? She's so beautiful, she's like a goddess!"

"You're lying!" Mrs. Hayashi said, sobbing into her hands.

"Augh!" Inuyasha shouted. "Don't cry! What do you want me to say?! You're the best mother in the world! I'm sorry I was unappreciative of you!"

"It's not about me," his mother sobbed. "You've hurt the feelings of women everywhere by refusing to compliment on Kagome-chan. You would think that such a sight would inspire a poem, but nooooo. You brush it off as if it were nothing!"

"What?! What?!" asked Inuyasha exasperatedly.

"Just say a poem, Nii-chan," Rin advised sagely.

"WHAT?! I'm not saying no stinking poem!" Inuyasha shouted. His mother sobbed even more loudly. "Fine… Roses are red, violets are blue…"

"Not that kind of poem! An original poem!" Mrs. Hayashi sobbed. "Oh, how unromantic my son is… This is all your fault!" she said, pointing at her husband.

"What did I do?" he asked. Kagome saw Miroku shake his head at the chaos that was about to ensue between Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi.

"Willows breathe and tulips sigh,

Mountains sing and swallows fly,

She is life and beauty's Queen,

One would think she is a dream."

The entire house fell into deep silence. They all stared at the one who had composed the poem. 

"That was…very good, my son," his father said.

"Are you happy now?" Inuyasha asked his mother.

"Yes! I'm so very happy!" his mother said, taking her hands off her face. There was not a trace of tears on it.

"Okaa-chan! You tricked me!" Inuyasha said, very pissed off. His face was burning scarlet.

"Yes, but your poem was so nice, dear," his mother said, "I knew you could compose one of your lovely poems for your girlfriend."

"Stop saying that!" Inuyasha said, turning even redder, if that was possible. 

"Kagome-chan, you're so lucky to have such a romantic guy!" Sango squealed, causing Kagome to turn as red as Inuyasha.

"It's not like that!" they both shouted, and flushed crimson when the rest of them started laughing at the two of them for speaking the same thing at the same time.

"They're such a cute couple!" Rin said.

"Rin!" Inuyasha shouted, trying to hide his embarrassment. They just laughed at him again.

They arrived at Inuyasha's grandfather's house, deep in the heart of the mountain's forest sometime in the afternoon. The dojo that Kagome and Sango had gone to the other day was just a temporary home for him, and his real home was here. Inuyasha's grandfather called the house his "humble abode," but in truth, the building was about the size of a castle. In fact, Kagome didn't doubt that the building before her **was **a castle.

The family and guests were currently situated in a room so large that Kagome didn't even know what to call it. An audience room? A throne room? They were seated in sort of a square, each person having a small table in front of them. They all sat down on the mats, and Kagome was reminded of Japan during the Sengoku Jidai. 

Sango and Miroku sat together, obviously, while somehow or other, Mrs. Hayashi had arranged the seats so that Inuyasha ended up sitting next to her, although he was supposed to sit by his grandfather's side. Instead, Rin sat near her grandfather, while Inuyasha's father sat next to his father's other side. Mrs. Hayashi placed herself between her husband and Inuyasha. Originally, Sesshoumaru was supposed to sit next to Mr. Hayashi, but he had apparently decided not to come.

Suddenly, the room hushed down as the last, and probably most important guest entered. His aura of contempt was not easy to miss, and Kagome noticed several youkai straining to constrain themselves as the youkai sat down at his respective seat, the first seat next to the members of the Hayashi family. He brought along a female youkai, undoubtedly his servant, who sat next to him.

"Welcome, Naraku-sama," Inuyasha's grandfather greeted him. "I am glad that you could make it."

"I would never be so disrespectful as to miss Hayashi-sama's birthday," Naraku said, smiling insincerely. Kagome reminded herself that Naraku was a lord now and that she couldn't insult him, or else she would get the Hayashi family in trouble.

"Please, drop the formalities and just have an enjoyable party," Mrs. Hayashi said. She whispered something to a servant's ear and turned back to the guests. "Dinner shall arrive shortly. Meanwhile, we've provided some entertainment for your enjoyment."

A group of musicians and dancers walked out from one of the doors. Kagome noticed that not one of them was human. She wondered if she, Miroku, and Sango were the only ones here that were human. The thought was not comforting.

The performance ended as the servants started serving each one of the guests. Kagome guessed that there must have been at least a hundred people at that room, and wondered how many more youkai had not shown up. She was sort of glad that they hadn't appeared, for the ones that did show up looked at her funny. Some of them frowned when they saw her and Sango, while others just ignored them. They seemed to be too used to Miroku to have any reaction towards him, though.

Suddenly there was a commotion around where Naraku was sitting. The woman that Naraku had brought was holding Miroku's right hand up and away from her. Miroku was trying to twist out of her grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Inuyasha's grandfather.

"My servant is weak, so is sensitive to the prayer beads on the boy's hands," Naraku said smoothly. "If you had thought beforehand, perhaps you would have remembered that not all youkai are as powerful as you and can stand a monk's wards."

"And if you had watched the youkai in your lands, perhaps this incident could have been prevented," Inuyasha's grandfather growled.

"I am afraid I do not understand you," Naraku said coolly.

"Do not mock me. Know this: my grandson's friend wears those beads only to prevent a curse inflicted by someone in your lands on him from opening," he said, narrowing his eyes at Naraku.

"You proceed to lay perfect blame on me," Naraku said calmly.

"What are you trying to suggest?" questioned Inuyasha's father, getting angry with Naraku's disrespect.

"Would it not be easy for an enemy of mine to frame me by committing a crime on my land?" Naraku asked. "And such strange coincidence brings the victim of the crime to be an acquaintance of my enemy."

"Are you suggesting that Hayashi-sama did this to his own people?!" an angry youkai shouted.

"I am merely suggesting theories," Naraku replied indifferently.

"How dare you show disrespect to Hayashi-sama!" another youkai shouted.

"How dare you show disrespect to Naraku-sama!" the woman shouted.

"Yes, yes, how dare anyone show disrespect to another," a clear voice rang out. "If you ask me, all of you suck."

"Musashino!" his mother gasped, appalled at his lack of manners.

"What? It is obvious to me that Naraku-sama was framed. He is a youkai of honor, so he would never lie," Inuyasha said. "And I know from personal experience that Ojii-sama would not blame another without evidence, and since Naraku-sama was framed, the evidence cannot really be trusted. Therefore, it really is no one's fault. All of you are disputing for nothing. And all of you suck for not realizing this before."

Naraku narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him, seemingly puzzled by his actions while the other youkai reluctantly backed down.

"I apologize for ruining your celebration," Naraku said, standing up. "If it does not bother you, then I shall leave and prevent myself from further embarrassment." He didn't specify whether it was he who felt embarrassed, or if he was trying to keep himself from youkai he considered an embarrassment. The other youkai noticed his choice of words, but said nothing.

"If it pleases you, you may leave," the lord said.

"It never pleases me to do such a thing," Naraku said, smiling that false smile. "We are leaving, Aki."

"Hai, Naraku-sama," the woman said, and followed her lord out. Kagome felt the tension in the air dwindle down to nothing as soon as Naraku left. The youkai started talking amongst themselves and soon the entire room was filled with idle chatter from the people attending the birthday party of their lord. 

Inuyasha was sitting outside in the garden when he heard someone approaching him. It was Kagome. The small sliver of a moon illuminated the white silk of her kimono, making her look like she was glowing. She really did look like a goddess descended from the sky.

"What are you doing out here?" her soft voice inquired.

"Nothing," Inuyasha replied, but in truth, he was much troubled. He hoped that what he had said earlier would not have any dire consequences. He knew that by insulting everyone, he would catch their attention, and indeed he did. However, he was afraid that despite insulting everyone to catch their attention, there might have been something that he had accidentally let slip. He hoped that his choice of words had temporarily relieved the tension between Naraku and his grandfather's people. If he had made a mistake, then soon, they would all be at war against each other…

"Huh?"

"I asked you why did you insult everyone today," Kagome repeated. "I mean, you helped things cool down a bit, but did you do that intentionally, or was that just a pleasant side effect?"

"Oh, you mean when I said everyone sucks? Nah, I was just saying what was on my mind," Inuyasha said, winking playfully at her. He knew that his answer only made Kagome more confused, but he didn't want her to know. She didn't have to know that he had always been juggling these forces ever since he was old enough to talk. It really wasn't any of her business and he hated when people pitied him. He remembered how the other youkai used to pity him because he was thrown into youkai politics against his will. They called his five-year-old self a "poor thing" and were always going on about how it was sad that a child had to be born into a time when political instability was common amongst youkai.

"I don't think I believe you," Kagome said, but she didn't question him on that matter any more.

They sat quietly, side by side, listening to the music of the water in the pond.

"Inuyasha, I have to make something clear to you," Kagome said. He turned to her, curious about what she was going to say.

"You know that I loved a person named Inuyasha," she started. He didn't like where this was going. "And you know what the two of us went through. You know what I would have done for him, what I would still do for him. I don't want to play with your feelings, Musashino. That's why I have to tell you this."

"You don't have to," he said quickly. He could feel a sort of panic rise in his heart. He had to get away. He had to get away before she said it.

"Please hear me out," Kagome pleaded. He felt bound to her at that moment, and he knew he couldn't leave, even if he wanted to.

"You and Inuyasha are different," she said. "Inuyasha used to get angry very often. He had a short temper and he was rude and gruff. But he was also kind beneath all those masks. He is like you when you're being nice, except he didn't like to show his good side. From what I gather from you, you're a good person, too. But I don't know you well enough to make any judgments. Sometimes I think you'll act a certain way, but then you surprise me. But that's not the point. I want you to understand what I'm going through.

"I didn't start off liking Inuyasha, but time soon showed me the truth about him. And as we traveled together I fell in love with him. I know this is strange for you to listen to someone talk about their love story, but please bear with me. I don't want to confuse you like I'm confusing myself now. I just ask for your understanding.

"You know that our quest was to complete the Shikon no Tama. We never did. In the battle against Naraku, we lost, and he was killed." Kagome started to cry. "He-he was killed, and I wasn't there for him. I couldn't help him. I couldn't do anything… He was killed because of me, because of my image, because I made him care for me…"

"Don't cry, Kagome," he said, trying to comfort her. "If it hurts, don't talk about it. Don't talk about it."

"It's just that I miss him so much. Every time I look at you, I see him, but even now, his image is disappearing. Your image is becoming just your image. Inuyasha is slowly slipping away, slipping out of my life, into another story, another time… I just… I just wish…"__

_Don't say it._

_Don't say it._

"I just wish that he was still here with me."__

_No!_

"I just want to be with him again. I want to be with the one I love!"

He felt something break loose from him, and he saw swirls of energy rushing towards him, his soul absorbing every burst of energy that came to him and sucking out even more from his surroundings. This time, he knew what was happening. He knew that if he didn't leave now, his family was going to die.

"What's happening?" asked Kagome, her hair becoming undone with the amount of force that was swirling around towards him. "Inu—Musa—wait!"

He ran from her. He ran down the hallways, digging the map of his grandfather's mansion out of the recesses of his mind. He searched frantically for the exit, and while he ran, he heard screams of pain come from the youkai servants that worked under his grandfather. Their youki. He was draining them of their youki.

He slammed open a door so hard that it rebounded from the frame and almost tripped him, but he kept running. The exit was right in front of him. He saw a flash of silver and turned to that direction.

His mother was on the ground, her silver hair laid carelessly around her. Her face was contorted in pain. She wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. He could do nothing. He ran out of the castle, away from his family. He ran not to save his life, but the lives of others.

But even as he ran, he could still feel bits and pieces of the youkai's youki follow him, entering him, sealing itself in him.

**Author's Note:** Kobayashi is little forest. It's like Hayashi, except with "little" in front of it.

So, how do you like this chapter? Kind of long, but oh well. I get carried away sometimes. And Inuyasha's poem took me way too long to write! I had to find words that rhymed and I had to make sure the rhythm was right. Such a bother, but it's worth it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it!

Things are going to heat up from this point on. If you think Inuyasha has remembered his past already, you're wrong. Remember, the more youki he sucks, the less he remembers.

Well, see ya later!


	33. The Jewel's Lure

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: The Jewel's Lure**

            Darkness. He couldn't see. The absolute absence of light was suffocating. He could feel the black air around him press onto him, squeezing him, willing him to his death. He did not know, he could not know if his surroundings were real, or if it was just something his mind had conjured up. He put his hand in front of him, but saw nothing. Did his hand even exist in this world? Was he even a physical being in this world?

            _"I see you've finally entered this realm," _an all too familiar voice said. He turned towards the direction of the voice, but he really couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.

            _"Do not bother to find me, for you will not,"_ the voice said.

            _"What do you want?"_

_            "To offer you a deal you cannot refuse."_ __

            He didn't trust the voice, but he was nonetheless curious. And he was starting to feel the darkness eat his soul. If the deal was to escape this hellhole, then he would do it.

            _"What is it?" _he asked cautiously.

            _"Do you wish to live with your family again?"_ he asked. _Family? What?_

_            "You know well what has happened. If you wish to live with them again, then you will do as I order you. Obey me, and I will remove this spell from you."_ He knew well what had happened. Or did he?__

_            "I don't know what you're talking about,"_ he replied to the familiar, yet foreign figure.

_            "The power of your…gift kills any and all youkai surrounding you, including your family,"_ the voice answered his unspoken question. _My…gift?_

_            That's right… Okaa-chan… Everyone…because of me… My power. My "gift." My curse._

_            "What do you want?" _he asked again.

_            "Give me the girl's part of the Shikon no Tama…"_

_            Shikon no Tama?_

_            "…that is your first mission."_

            He woke up, gasping for air. It had almost seemed like he had been drowning in eternal darkness, but the morning light brushed such thoughts gently away from his mind. There had been something… Something important, but he could not, for the life of him, remember what it was.

            He quickly performed the morning necessities and hurried downstairs. He hadn't wanted to fall asleep, but finally, he couldn't help himself, and had fallen asleep in his friend's home.

            "Any word yet?" he asked nervously. _Please let her be okay… Please._

            "Musashino," Miroku's mother greeted him. "Good news. Your mother is fine. She hasn't completely recovered, but she'll live."

            "You're lucky Sesshoumaru appeared when he did," Miroku smiled, hoping his friend wouldn't blame himself for what had happened last night.__

_            I know… I know that I'm lucky Onii-chan appeared when he did. I know that it was my fault that all of this happened. I… I want to make sure my mom's all right. I want to thank Onii-chan. But how do you tell someone this when you can't even move close enough to them for them to even sense you?_

            "Yeah! Onii-chan's the greatest!" he said enthusiastically, hoping that he wasn't giving too much of himself away. Miroku raised an eyebrow at his statement, but went along with him. He couldn't tell if he had successfully fooled his best friend or not.

            "But because Sesshoumaru-sama used his youki to help most of the youkai over there, I'm afraid he isn't that well," Miroku's mother said.

            "I… I understand," Inuyasha said quietly. But then he grinned, remembering to slip his mask in place. "So, is there anything I can help you with? I feel guilty for intruding on your privacy."

            "Don't be ridiculous, Musashino," she said kindly. "We're always glad to have you over."

            "Okaa-san, is it okay if some of my friends come over later?" asked Miroku.

            "That's fine, Miroku," she said. "I'm going to have to be out for the remainder of the day, so I expect you to keep an eye on the house. If you're going to go out later, remember to lock all the doors and windows."

            "I know," Miroku said. He turned to Inuyasha. "Since you're so eager to work, go clean my room."

            "Clean it yourself, you bum," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes.

            "Hey! You're trespassing on my property," Miroku said.

            "You don't even own a pot of dirt, much less a house," Inuyasha said.

            "Be that way," Miroku said, sighing. "I'm going to call Kagome and Sango over here. Can't go over to Kagome's like we did before because…well, you know."

            "Yeah."

            Miroku quickly left, looking uncomfortable. But he was right. He did know. How could he not know what had happened? How could he not remember the look on his mother's face as he ran out into the night?

            He sat down on the sofa, rubbing his face. _What am I going to do? I can't stay at Miroku's house forever. I can't go back home unless I want everyone to die… What do I do?_

            He looked out of the window, watching the morning sun rise high into the sky. He wished that he could shine as brightly and as confidently as that orb of light. Mask beneath mask he hid, fearing rejection for what he was, fearing contempt for what he could never be.

            He got up quickly and found some paper, writing a note to Miroku. He taped the note on the door and exited the house. He had nowhere to go, so he would be back, but before he did, he wanted some peace. He didn't know why, but ever since his coma, things had taken a turn for the worst. He couldn't understand anything that was happening, and his friends didn't really try to enlighten him, either. But he didn't blame them. They had their own problems. Sango and Miroku, dealing with their past… And Kagome. What was he to make of her?

            She had told him herself that she loved a youkai who had been dead for five hundred years, one that she was willing to lose everything for. How could he compete with that? He was nothing, and he knew it. A youkai that had no powers. He was worst than the weakest hanyou. He was weaker than the weakest youkai child. How could he amount to anything as he was? He was lucky to even have such a loving family. Had it been anyone else, he would have been killed the moment they discovered of his lack of powers.

            He crossed the crosswalk, paying little attention to the traffic. He was headed towards the park, and hopefully, there would be less traffic on the way there. Not that it mattered to him. He was in no hurry.

            The world was spinning out of his control. He had tried his best in his sixteen years, but it was not enough. He was not strong enough to stand against the events that were happening. How did that Inuyasha that Kagome loved deal with his problems? He seemed so much stronger, so much more confident, so much better than he. How could he even live up to him? Did he even want to?

            _I'm Musashino. But I am also Inuyasha. I am myself, but am I? Kagome, Miroku, and Sango seem to believe that I am this Inuyasha of the past. Can I say that I'm not? How do I know if I'm not?_

            The park echoed with the laughter of children, and he smiled slightly. They reminded him of when he was small, when he was five years old, when he was still a "true" youkai. He laughed to himself. His story sounded similar to "Inuyasha's." He who lost his way of life when he was a child, and was forced to accept the truth of the world when he was young. He who was different from the others; different from both humans and youkai.

            He saw a child start to look a bit ill as he walked closer to a bench and realized that the child was a youkai. He quickly moved away from the child and found a silent grove of trees that was absent of any humans or youkai. He sighed softly to himself and sat down at the base of a tree.

            He wondered how this had all started. Had it started when Miroku got his air rip? When he met Kagome? When he fell into a coma? Or was it longer ago? So long that he had forgotten what had happened?

            And why was he suddenly forgetting so much? His family, his friends, himself… Were the heavens trying to punish him? Or was it because of the one called "Naraku"?

            Naraku… He didn't have any evidence that Naraku was really doing anything. Sure, he was a good person to blame, but he really didn't know if it really was Naraku that was behind all of this. What if he was mistaken? Kagome and the others blamed Naraku for all the misfortunes that had befallen them, but was this Naraku really the same? What if he had changed? What he just looked the same and happened to be named the same as his past life?

            _Yeah, and it just so happens that Naraku in this time is a hanyou just like the Naraku in the past. I should just give in and say it's his fault. Must be my grandfather's side in me. "Always get concrete evidence before assuming things" was what he always said, but yesterday, he violated his own words. So where does that leave me? To assume, or not to assume? Maybe I should just wait to see what happens. But what if by the time I find out, it's too late?_

            There was a strange rustling in the bushes, and he got up to leave when he saw his friends appear.

            "Inuyasha! Why'd you run off like that? Do you know how hard it was to find you?" asked Miroku, taking a leaf out of his hair and brushing himself off.

            "What do ya want?" asked Inuyasha, slightly irritated with him.

            "Inuyasha, I think it is time that you see what it is that we're fighting Naraku for," Kagome said. Inuyasha noticed that Sango was unusually tense and she seemed to be alert for danger. He started to feel nervous. Something… Something… What was it?

            Kagome reached to her neck and pulled out a chain with a broken jewel at the end.

_            Shikon no Tama…_

            He started to feel very uncomfortable near it, but some part of him wanted to touch to jewel, to take it, to hide it, to keep it…

            "This is the Shikon no Tama," Kagome said. She noticed that Inuyasha was looking very strange.

_            "Beware of the friend you love and trust."_

            She started to doubt her decision to show Inuyasha the Shikon shard, but quickly scolded herself. Inuyasha would never betray her. That was just a kooky fortuneteller that cheated people's money. She wouldn't believe such rubbish.

            "This isn't the complete Shikon no Tama, but…" Kagome cocked her head slightly to the side. "I think you might have the rest."

            "Huh?" asked Inuyasha.

            "That time that you were attacked by the Scorpion Lady, the Shikon shard seemed to appear from your blood, so I'm guessing that you have the shard hidden somewhere…" Kagome ended nervously.

            "So what? You want to cut me up to look for it?" asked Inuyasha. Strangely, his voice had lost that joking lilt that he usually had.

            "No…" Kagome answered. She felt her heart contract painfully. It was her fault that any of this happened. Had she never appeared, Inuyasha may never have died, and this Inuyasha may never have fallen into Naraku's play.

            "What do want to do then?" asked Inuyasha, sounding so incredibly tired.

            "I… I don't know…" Kagome admitted. "But I was thinking, maybe you can keep this shard for me?"

            Inuyasha gave her a sharp look that tore through her defenses.

            "I wouldn't trust myself with the jewel," he said softly. _What?_ Kagome thought.

            "What do you mean, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku, concerned for his friend.

            "I know this may sound strange, but something in me is telling me to stay away from that jewel," he said, his brow creased with confusion and concern. "But another part of me wants it… It wants it so badly…"

            His words were sending chills down Kagome's spine. He was wary of the jewel, yet he desired it… Inuyasha of the past desired the jewel. Perhaps this was just a lingering effect of his past life? Or did he really yearn for the jewel as much as he had just sounded?

_            "Though their heart is true, they will fall prey to evil."_

            She couldn't believe that. That fortuneteller was obviously only after money. She wasn't so stupid as to believe that such a person could truly predict the future. Was she?

            But she had been so vague about everything… Her words could have applied to anyone. Miroku could have been the friend that would fall prey to evil. Maybe the evil was just groping people? But he wasn't the one that she loved, was he?

            But she didn't love this Inuyasha, right? She knew she had feelings for him, but she wouldn't dub them love just yet. So she didn't love him, which meant that he wasn't the one that would betray her. But what if the fortuneteller was referring to the old Inuyasha?

            Inuyasha suddenly rubbed his head as if he were having a headache.

            "Are you all right?" asked Sango, looking at his direction for a moment.

            "Get away from me. NOW!" Inuyasha shouted suddenly, making them all jump in surprise.

            "Wha—?" Kagome was about to ask when Inuyasha suddenly leapt at her, his arm extended, aiming for her throat.

            "Kyaa!" Kagome screamed, rolling away from Inuyasha's attack.

            "Get away now!" Inuyasha shouted as he charged at her again. He was stopped by Sango, who had hit him with a large stone.

            "Kagome-chan, come over here!" Sango shouted. Miroku had his hands on his prayer beads. Kagome ran towards them, but Inuyasha tripped her. She fell with a thud and saw the Shikon shard fall out of her hands. Everything seemed to slow down. Someone caught it.

            "Excellent performance. You looked just like that worthless dog when he had lost the Shikon no Tama to Kikyo," his icy voice rang out. She looked up angrily at him.

            "Naraku," Sango spat, placing herself in front of Kagome. "Return the jewel to Kagome-chan now, or I'll have to kill you."

            "Do as she says," Miroku said, his beads partially off. "We outnumber you."

            "Two to three," Naraku smiled. "Or rather, two to two. Without a bow and arrow, that girl is useless," Naraku said to Miroku. "I would say the odds are quite equal, if not better, for me." Miroku gritted his teeth in anger. "As you can see, your 'friend' here is under **my** control."

            "Surrender, Naraku," Kagome shouted, getting up. "I have learned more tricks since the last time we've met." Sango looked at Kagome in surprise, but Kagome didn't dare look at her friend. She hoped her bluff was going to work.

            "Let us see, then," Naraku said. "Why don't you test out your paltry tricks on your friend here?" he asked, gesturing to Inuyasha, who walked in front of Naraku in a protective gesture.

            "Damn you, Naraku," Inuyasha said through clenched teeth. Naraku only smiled in response.

            "Try your tricks, Miko, or I shall get impatient with you," he said. His cool voice struck fear in Kagome's heart. What was she going to do? She didn't know any new tricks. And even if she did, she wasn't going to try it out on Inuyasha.

            "Kagome," Inuyasha strained against the spell. "You're a miko. Use your power as you should. No feelings should be attached to your duty." _What is he trying to say?_ It looked like Naraku had no idea what he was talking about either for no snide remarks were made. Then again, it didn't look like anyone there understood what Inuyasha was talking about.

_            Do my duty? My duty?_

_            A miko's duty… What is that?_

            Kagome looked at Inuyasha and uttered a silent apology. She closed her eyes and felt the power of both humans and youkai floating around her, as well as her own special power. The vacuum that was Inuyasha was absent, replaced by a strong spell that no doubt was used to control him. She could feel Miroku's monk powers coming from him, as well as a trace of youki surrounding his hand, and that strange emptiness that his hand carried. Sango's ki was at its maximum, and Naraku's youki was trying to elude her senses, but she could still feel him. This was the real Naraku.

            She envisioned a ball of energy in her hand. _Courage. Friendship. Wisdom. Love… _She felt a warm, reassuring power pulse in her hand. She opened her eyes, and threw the orb of energy at Naraku. The orb of light blurred into a sharp blade as it spun towards Naraku. But he used Inuyasha as a shield.

            "Inuyasha!" Sango screamed as the blade collided with Inuyasha. Kagome sank to her feet, her hands clasped together. Her throat was tight. She couldn't speak. _Forgive me, Inuyasha…_

            Suddenly Inuyasha grabbed the blade of light, its edges cutting into his skin. He ignored it and swung the blade at Naraku. Naraku evaded the blade and the blade of power smashed into a nearby tree, demolishing it.

            "Heh. Bastard," Inuyasha smirked. "All you've got is a big mouth with no brains."

            Naraku's eyes narrowed angrily at Inuyasha's comment.__

_            He did it… He used my purifying energy to remove the spell from him…_ Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. Sango and Miroku were both still in confusion.

            "Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine," Inuyasha grinned. In his hand, he held a small black oval that looked similar to the one that he had used to heal Kagome's bruised toes. He threw it at Naraku, who was too surprised to move out of the way. Upon contact, the black oval exploded, becoming a huge vacuum that sucked all the youki surrounding them. Naraku was not spared.

            Soon, the spell wore itself out, and all that was left of Naraku were his clothes. Silence descended upon the park, setting everything at peace.

            "He… He's gone," Sango said in astonishment.

            "What exactly happened just now?" asked Miroku. Kagome looked to Inuyasha for an explanation.

            "The purifying power of Kagome's arrow allowed me to partially purify the spell that was on me and seal it into one of those jewels," Inuyasha explained.

            "How did you know how to do that?" asked Sango.

            "I've seen my mother seal illusion spells into jewels all the time," he replied. But there was something he wasn't saying. _In that moment when the energy touched him… I thought I had made a mistake and my error was going to take his life. In that moment… I thought that he had wanted to die._

            "Inuyasha, are you all right?" she asked.

            "Couldn't be better," he grinned. "Spell's gone so I can go home now. Yea!"

_            He certainly seems happy,_ Kagome thought. _But what if he's hiding again? This Inuyasha… He hides his emotions all too well…_

            "We've defeated Naraku," Sango said in disbelief. "Our mission is over."

            "If we've defeated Naraku," Miroku interrupted, "then why is it that I still have my air rip?"

            They all turned to look at him. Sure enough, the black hole was still in his hand. Was he cursed to die even after Naraku's death?

            "The Shikon no Tama!" Kagome gasped, quickly running to the pile of Naraku's clothes and picking up the small shard. "Miroku's right," she said, putting the chain around her neck again. "Our mission is far from over. We must find the rest of the shards and wish this evil jewel away."

            "And after we complete it, we can wish for Miroku's air rip to disappear," Sango said excitedly.

            "Yeah, yeah. The important thing now is to go back to Miroku's house and raid his fridge!" Inuyasha said, starting to walk out of the park. The three followed his lead. Kagome smiled as Sango and Miroku started to talk happily to each other. However, she couldn't help but notice that Inuyasha tried to walk as far away from her as possible. She smiled sadly to herself.

_            I suppose we're just not meant to be. How many people have this many obstacles in their way to each other? In his past life, he lost my incarnation, and when I appeared, I lost him. Now we're both here again, but we cannot seem to get close to each other._ She clutched her jewel tightly. _Shikon no Tama… I cannot wait to get rid of this Jewel of Curses. All who come in contact with it lose their lives. I just hope I can live long enough to rid this world forever of this jewel. I just hope I can get rid of the jewel fast enough so that Inuyasha's life won't be in danger because of it again._

            And she bore this burden of hers quietly, uncomplaining, for that was the duty of a miko.

**Author's Note:** Huh. This chapter didn't turn out as I had originally planned. Naraku was supposed to be defeat by—whoops! I'm not going to tell you. 

Thanks to all those people who've stuck with me for so long. I think this story is nearing its conclusion. Oh, wait… Nope. I'm wrong. There still some _stuff_ that has to happen. After all, we have to patch up Kagome and Inuyasha's weird relationship, right? Or should I just leave them this way?

By the way, sorry for any spelling or grammar errors. I don't have the time to double check my work anymore.


	34. Impending Doom

**Complete the Circle**

**Author's Note: **Don't worry. I would never end this story with the ending of the previous chapter. That would be too cruel, and would totally bomb the story. Don't you agree?

Please keep in mind the title of the story and the chapter titles. I rarely do something without reason…

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Impending Doom**

            Something was different about her. Ever since they had moved here, she had been acting strangely. Ever since she had met that friend of hers… Ever since they had gone to that house to exterminate the pests…

            Sango was definitely not the same as she was before. He remembered how sad she looked one day after she came home. She kept on looking at everyone with such strange eyes that it had scared him. It almost seemed like she was another person with another memory, another life. Sure, she became nicer to him than usual, but still… It was strange to see a sister transform like that in the course of a day.

            He pattered softly down the stairs, hoping not to wake anyone. He didn't want to wake his sister up for he knew that she was probably tired from yesterday's events. He had heard his parents talking about it over dinner last night, and he was starting to feel worried. His sister and her friends had been attacked by a real live youkai yesterday. Perhaps… Perhaps he should learn the ancient art of youkai extermination also? Perhaps he needed to know the art in order to protect his sister? He was the only son in the family, and he had a duty to protect the women in the family in the case of his father's absence. That's what his father had always taught him, and he didn't want to let him down, even if it would go against his own wishes.

            He quietly poured himself a cup of milk and watched quietly as the clock on the kitchen wall slowly ticked away. Eight o' clock. Had it been a normal day, he would have been in school with Souta and Shippou long ago. But today, there was a holiday. A holiday for what, he did not know.

            It almost seemed deliberate, this holiday. It wasn't marked on any of the calendars, yet all the students were given the day off. He was thankful for that at least. He would be able to go out and play with his friends, and his sister would be able to rest some more.

            He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his sister's voice.

            "Onee-chan! Don't scare me like that!" he said, trying to calm his wildly pounding heart.

            "I'm sorry, Kohaku," she apologized. "I just wanted to know why didn't you wake me up for school."

            "We don't have school today," he answered, finishing the glass of milk. "We have a day off. Didn't you know?"

            "No…" she answered, looking puzzled. To tell the truth, he was pretty confused himself. Some lady had appeared on the television yesterday night and announced that school was to be canceled for a day. She didn't give any reason as to what the holiday was for, but at that time, he had been too happy to question this strange announcement. But now…

            He didn't know why, but he had always had this strange feeling whenever something unusual was about to happen. He never told his parents for they would only say that he was imagining things, and he didn't want to tell Sango for he didn't want her to worry about him. But whenever he had this feeling, something bad would happen. Once he had had this exact same feeling when he was crossing a nearby hospital, and on the night news, he had discovered that one of the rooms in the hospital had been nearly destroyed. The news reporter had hinted that there was a ghost there, but no more was said of the matter. Another time, when his parents were checking this neighborhood out with him, a taxi had driven by him, and he had felt the same feeling. He found out later that several teenagers and a woman had been killed and that police were investigating the matter. He didn't know how that tied with the taxi, but he was not going to brush off these incidents as mere coincidence.

            And it was the same feeling that he felt now. But instead of it coming from a specific place, the feeling seemed to come from everywhere…and yet, nowhere. It seemed to linger in a plane of nonexistence, yet it also felt slightly suffocating. And he had a feeling that whatever was going to happen this time, it was going to concern him.

            "Kohaku!" Sango said loudly, tapping his head. "Are you listening to me? Stop spacing out."

            "What?" he asked, moving away from her hand. It annoyed him when she treated him like that.

            "I asked you if you are going to go out with Souta and Shippou today," she said impatiently.

            "Maybe. Why?" he asked.

            "Nothing. I just don't want to have to baby-sit you," she replied. "If you're going out with Shippou, then I know that at least you'll be safe." She didn't have to say safe from what.

            "Are you going out, too?" he asked.

            "Yeah. I'll walk you to Kagome-chan's house after you dress," she said. "Hurry it up, okay?" He nodded and quickly went up the stairs to his room. And as he ascended the stairs, he felt that he was sealing his own doom.

            He approached his great-great uncle with caution. The man who sat before him was the legendary sword maker, the creator of two legendary swords that time had forgotten, the man who dared turn down Sesshoumaru in his request to purchase a sword made by him. This man, his great-great uncle, was now here to speak to him, a youkai who, shamefully, exhibited no special powers. Needless to say, he was nervous. Very nervous, indeed.

            "So you are the one called 'Musashino,'" he said in a wizened voice. "You remind me of…"

            "Of 'Inuyasha,' the hanyou, correct?" he completed for him, surprising him. The ancient youkai refused to answer him.

            "It is time for you to act less cheeky and obey the instructions of your elders," he said. Inuyasha had a feeling that he was testing him, but for what?

            "Hai, Toutousai-sama," he said, bowing slightly. The old youkai gestured for him to sit. 

            "Sesshoumaru-sama, would you mind reminding me what you have just told me?" he asked, "In my old age, my mind seems to be deteriorating."

            "Your mind is just as sharp as ever, Toutousai," Sesshoumaru answered him. "Do not mock me with false words."

            "Eh? What was that you just said?" asked Toutousai. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, and Inuyasha thought Toutousai looked slightly nervous under Sesshoumaru's scrutiny.

            "Musashino, the reason we called you here is because we have reason to suspect that what you told us yesterday may not be the entire truth," Sesshoumaru started. "On the night of Hayashi-sama's birthday, I was out…surveying a certain shady character. I had kept an eye on him for the better part of the night when a strange feeling of a void occurred at Hayashi-sama's home. You know of whom and what I speak of."

            "Yes…" he answered, his mind trying to put the puzzles together. Something just didn't click.

            "You may notice that I had said I was watching Naraku for most of the night," Sesshoumaru continued. "And you may realize that Naraku was also present at the party held in honor of Hayashi-sama," he said.

            But that was impossible. How Naraku be at two places at once?

            "I do not know if your friends have told you this," Sesshoumaru said, "but the Naraku five hundred years ago had the ability to create puppets of himself, which he used to his full tactical advantage."

            "If you're trying to say that Naraku wasn't destroyed yesterday, you're wrong," Miroku said suddenly. All eyes turned to him.

            "What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked, slightly annoyed.

            "I'm here on Toutousai's request," Miroku answered. "And I also brought the item that he requested."

            Kagome and Sango walked into their view, both smiling shyly and slightly guiltily. Kagome was holding a long bundle in her arms.

            "Ah, the fang," Toutousai smiled, gesturing for Kagome to come closer to him. He unwrapped the cloth around it and started checking the blade's quality. "Hasn't rusted. That's good." He turned to Inuyasha and showed him the chipped sword. "Behold one of my two masterpieces, Tetsusaiga!"

            Inuyasha looked skeptically at the sword. He remembered that sword. It was the sword that he had found on the top of the God tree at Kagome's house. **That** piece of junk was his great-great uncle's masterpiece?

            "Do not be deceived by appearances. This truly is a great sword, as Sesshoumaru-sama will tell you," Toutousai said, oblivious to Sesshoumaru's growing irritation with him.

            "What's so great about that—" he swallowed his own words before he could offend his great-great uncle.

            " 'Rusted piece of crap?'" Toutousai finished for him. Inuyasha shifted nervously. "When used properly, this sword transforms from its current state into a great powerful blade that is capable of destroying one hundred youkai in one swing."

            "Right," Inuyasha answered, wondering if the old man had gone senile.

            "He's telling the truth," Kagome said. "I've seen Inuyasha do it."

            "I'm not Inuyasha," he answered. "Well, yeah, I am, but I'm also not—"

            "Yeah, yeah, we get the point," Miroku interrupted him. Inuyasha glared at him.

            "Who asked you to come here, anyway?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

            "Toutousai," Miroku answered simply.

            "He contacted Miroku this morning, and Miroku contacted us," Sango explained.

            "Why am I always the last one to know about these sorts of things?" complained Inuyasha.

            "The point here is not who knew what first," Toutousai interrupted, "but to teach you how to use the Fang."

            "Why do you keep calling it 'the fang'?" asked Inuyasha.

            "The sword was originally made from the fang of our—excuse me, my father," Sesshoumaru said. Inuyasha saw him become stiff when he said those words. He wondered why.

            "The sword was later broken, but was repaired by the fang of the Lord of the Western Lands' other son, Inuyasha," Toutousai said.

            "And who cares about this sword?" asked Inuyasha. No matter what they said, the sword still looked like a rusted piece of crap.

            "As I was saying before certain interruptions were made," Sesshoumaru started, "I believe that the Naraku you killed was not the 'true' Naraku."

            "And I say it was the 'true' Naraku," Miroku said. "He was destroyed because his youki was sucked away. If he were a puppet, then the spell would not have affected him, for he wouldn't be a youkai, therefore, he wouldn't have any youki."

            "Hmph. Fool," Sesshoumaru said, looking scornfully at Miroku. "What do you think powers a puppet? There is always a degree of youki with a spell, and without a spell, the puppet would be unable to function."

            "But when we killed him, there wasn't a wooden block or anything," Kagome said. "Besides, I felt him. I could feel his youki all over him, and I know for a fact that the one we destroyed was real. Perhaps there is a Naraku puppet right now that is posing as the real Naraku."

            "If the true Naraku dies, then his puppet will die with him," Sesshoumaru said. "Spells of that nature cannot last long without its master."

            "Who cares about Naraku?" asked Inuyasha. "He, or at least his puppet, is dead. There's no need to seek him out and try to get revenge on him."

            "Don't be stupid, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "So long as Naraku lives, no one is safe," he said bitterly. "But you wouldn't know that now, would you? You've always been protected by your family."

            "What are you trying to say?" asked Inuyasha, understanding fully what Miroku was saying. He couldn't blame his friend for getting bitter over his comment, but he really didn't see a point in hunting down Naraku. It was true that the youkai had done some bad things, he could testify for that, but they had already punished him enough. Even if they had only killed one of his puppets, it was what the action symbolized that counted. He didn't believe that Lord Naraku could really be so foolish as to make the same mistake twice. At least, he hoped not. If Naraku was truly still alive, and if he was still so foolish as to continue doing his less than honorable deeds, then his family was in danger. If they really did attack Naraku now, would he come and kill his weakened family?

            "Naraku has killed and injured more than you could ever understand in your current state," Miroku said, unable to contain his anger. "The **old** Inuyasha would have understood this. **He** would not have hesitated to hunt the bastard down."

            "I am **not** that Inuyasha," he said, getting up angrily. "Get it through your thick head."

            "Obviously you are not," Miroku said. "If you were, then you would have understood why Sango and I want to kill him."

            "All you want to do is kill him for your own benefit," Inuyasha said. He knew he was being unfair, but he couldn't help it. He had had enough of being compared to the other Inuyasha.

            "Wouldn't you?" asked Miroku. "How do you think I got this?" he asked, raising his hand. "Do you think I wanted this? The only way that I will ever be able to live a normal life is if Naraku is completely destroyed so that this curse of mine can be lifted."

            "If youki is used to cast that spell, then youki can be used to remove it," he replied. "All we have to do is find a youkai with the power to lift the spell. There doesn't need to be bloodshed." _All noble words,_ he thought to himself. _If only I believed in them._

            "Why are you so reluctant to fight?" asked Miroku. __

_            Because I can't fight. Is that a reason?  I cannot protect the family that **I** weakened from him?_

            "You're just a coward. A coward that hides behind one of many faces," Miroku spat bitterly.

            "Miroku…" Sango started, but Miroku cut her off.

            "I was not so cowardly or so selfish as to disregard my **friend's** problem when he came out of his coma," Miroku said, "unlike you."

            He was stung. What could he say to such a comment?

            "That's enough," Toutousai's suddenly strong voice rang out. Then his voice changed back to its feeble timbre again. "I did not call you here so that you can bicker among yourselves. Sort out your views on Naraku after I'm gone, not while I'm here. I don't want to waste my time." He looked sharply at Inuyasha. "There will come a time when you can no longer utilize your ways, Musashino. You will no longer be able to retain the calmness of the water, and will have to revert to the wrath of a fire instead. Do you understand?"

            He did not understand, but he nodded anyway.

            "Good. Now, I will tell you how to use Tetsusaiga," he said, getting comfortable in his position. "The nature of the Tetsusaiga is to protect humans," he started, "or so it was thought. I did not think it was necessary back then to tell you of the sword's true nature, for you already seemed to have mastered it," he said, forgetting that he was not talking to **that** Inuyasha. Musashino decided to let that go.

            "Tetsusaiga is in fact activated when the wielder's heart wishes with all its power to protect someone," Toutousai continued. "The only reason that full blooded youkai cannot wield it is because they are usually too self centered to allow their heart to think of others. But you cannot blame them. In a harsh world, it is better to trust no one, to love no one.

            "However, the Lord of the Western Lands, your father, was different. He truly did love your mother, and because of that, he, a full youkai, was able to touch and wield the sword of his fang. You yourself discovered the power of the Tetsusaiga when you—" he suddenly realized that the person he was talking to was not the old Inuyasha, so stopped. He rephrased his words and started again. "He could not wield the sword until his heart bade him to save someone. Sesshoumaru-sama can also use the sword, but he must concentrate deep and hard in order to attain that level of concern from the heart. That is why it is difficult for him to use the fang. He must constantly concentrate on it, else the sword will injure him.

            "However, I believe that you can utilize this sword again," Toutousai said. Musashino was getting slightly irritated with the old youkai's forgetfulness that he was **not** the Inuyasha that he was talking about.

            "I bequeath this blade of demons unto you," Toutousai said, lapsing into the ancient dialect. "May you master it as your previous incarnation did."

            He reluctantly accepted the blade, and looked dubiously at the worn sheath. He reached for the hilt of the sword and was suddenly burned by a strange flame from the sword. He dropped the sword onto the floor.

            "What the he—"

            "It does not accept you," Toutousai said incredulously. "Well, I suppose it's expected," he said, getting Inuyasha angry.__

_            Stupid old fart… If the sword doesn't accept me, then what was that long speech about?_

            They laughed in the heart of the park, their jubilant cries echoing throughout the playground. Shippou had never had any siblings before, but if playing with them was anything like playing with Souta and Kohaku, then he wished that his mother had borne more children.

            But something was wrong with Kohaku today. He kept on looking around as if he expected something to jump out and get him. Shippou had beaten the older boy many times because of his distraction, and he was starting to feel worried for him. Did Kohaku know something he didn't know?

            "Kohaku, are you okay?" Souta asked. "Why aren't you paying attention to the game?"

            It was some time before he answered, "I'm fine."

            Shippou was about to say something when he suddenly felt a pair of hands grab him from behind.

            "Shippou!" Kohaku shouted. Shippou strained his neck to see who had grabbed him, and did not like what he saw.

            It was a disgusting, slimy youkai that had strange bubbles all over his body. Judging from the smell, Shippou knew that the youkai grabbing him was a seaweed youkai, and one very strong one at that.

            "S-Shikon no Tama," he gurgled, starting to choke Shippou. Shippou felt his head start to feel tight and he was starting to see spots in his vision. How could he have been so stupid not to notice that a youkai was so close? How could he, a full youkai, not have sensed this youkai?__

_            I really am useless…_ he thought as his mind started to slip away. Distantly, he heard someone shout his name and try to attack the demon.

            She sat there, wondering what move would be best. The smooth light and dark board before her gave her very limited options, and she suspected foul play. But still she commenced with the game, a plan forming in her head.

            She hovered her hand over the tall, elegant white figure, and smoothly slid the figure over to a horse-like figurine, knocking the figurine off the board. She smiled at her good luck.

            "Checkmate," she said in a low voice. He only frowned, which made her laugh.

            "I would not celebrate so early if I were you," he said, guarding his king and mobilizing his piece to attack her king in one move. "Checkmate."

            She definitely smelled a rat, and was about to say so when he gave her a look that commanded silence. 

            So, the real chess had begun.

She sat there nervously, fiddling with the edge of her jacket. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had been commanded away by a few well-placed words by Toutousai and the appearance of a very ill looking Rin. And now, it was just her, Miroku, Kagome and Toutousai. She wondered what was so important, or what was so secretive that the others had to be called away. The one who held the answers was just sitting there, sipping his tea, and looking at Tetsusaiga. 

            "Ahem," Miroku interrupted the old youkai, almost causing him to spill his tea all over himself.

            "Eh? Who are you people?" asked Toutousai. Miroku hit him on the head.

            "Stop playing games!" Miroku shouted. Toutousai rubbed his head in pain and in slight annoyance.

            "Please tell us why you told Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to go away," Kagome said politely, hoping that the ancient youkai would get a move on.

            He started to pour himself another cup of tea, and they could do nothing as he deliberately poured the tea slowly into his cup, blowing gently on the surface of the steaming tea before he leisurely drank it.

            "Are your hearts ready for this burden that you have brought onto yourself?" he asked suddenly, startling her.

            "What are you talking about?" asked Miroku, slightly grumpily.

            "I know you, monk," Toutousai said, "And I know you have no choice but to continue on with this mission. But what about you, Kagome?" he asked, turning to her.

            "Eh?" asked Kagome in surprise.

            "Musashino's words were not far from the truth, though you would like to deny it," he said mysteriously. "Why are you fighting Naraku?"

            "To punish him, of course," answered Kagome. "And to complete the Shikon no Tama."

            "To punish him?" asked Toutousai. "To complete the Shikon no Tama?"

            "Yes," Kagome said, getting slightly irritated with him.

            "Is it not true that Naraku died in that day?" asked Toutousai. They all looked at him in surprise. "Sesshoumaru-sama had told me of his discoveries not too long ago. Naraku died that day, and with him, the Shikon shard that he held disappeared. How could it be that he still has it?"

            "How could it be that he is still alive?" asked Miroku.

            "I do not know the answer to these questions," replied Toutousai calmly, not seeming like the senile old man he usually acted as. "I am not here to answer your questions. I am here to question your mission."

            "What?" Sango asked, not comprehending what Toutousai was trying to say.

            "You do not know if Naraku has the Shikon shards any longer," Toutousai said, "You are not even sure that the Naraku now is the Naraku that was in the past. You are not even sure if you have destroyed the Naraku in the present. You do not even have enough evidence to 'punish' this Naraku. Is this Naraku that you may have destroyed the Naraku that inflicted your pains on you?"

            Miroku was about to say something but Sango held his hand and shook her head. She could feel his prayer beads dig into her palms, but she didn't care.

            "You are the sole person who has reason to even go after this Naraku," Toutousai said, directing his words at Miroku. "But what about you two? Kagome, do you really need to complete the Shikon no Tama? Ever since that day, five hundred years ago, no youkai has ever had the power to sense the shards. Do you have enough cause to go after him? And you, Sango," he said, turning to her. "The brother of your past life was destroyed by Naraku's hands, but your true brother is alive and well. Why are you fighting for an offence of the past?"

            Sango realized the weight of his words as his meaning started to sink in. Why was she fighting? To avenge something done in her past life? That didn't make sense at all! Kohaku was safe, just as Toutousai said. Why was she even in this mission?

            She could feel Miroku slip his hand out of hers and she looked at him, startled for his action. His eyes wouldn't meet hers and she felt as if something between them had been suddenly ripped apart. She felt alone. Kagome… She was a miko and so at least still had a reason to go after Naraku. Miroku was injured by a youkai, possibly Naraku, so he was in a mission to win his life back. What was she doing here?

            "I suspected that you three did not realize this," Toutousai said. "You cannot fight Naraku as you are now. You will never win. At least five hundred years ago, you three had a true will and reason to fight, but now, all you have is a ghost. If you cannot unite your hearts in this matter, then you will surely be destroyed.

            "You do not know if Naraku is alive. It is perhaps best for you to leave things as it is now. If you try to stir up more trouble, then perhaps you really will be destroyed this time," he said, his wise words striking home. Sango could feel the power of their group starting to crumble.

            "Kagome was the nectar that drove you to each other," Toutousai said, "and Inuyasha was the petal that enclosed you all within the safety of the flower, binding you closer to each other, protecting you when he could. You cannot survive with only the nectar," he said gently, "You need the entire flower to hold it all together."

            "But Inuyasha…" Kagome started, but stopped. They all knew why.

            "You cannot assume that Musashino is Inuyasha," he said. "And even if he is, he cannot help you. Tetsusaiga, the weapon that gave you the hope to defeat Naraku, cannot be wielded by him. Even if you do find the resolve to continue on with your mission, you will not have the power to back your goals. The adults cannot help you without being punished for it, and they definitely cannot help you now.

            "You are right, Miroku. Musashino is reluctant to fight, and why shouldn't he be? He has powers less than yourself, Miroku, and you should know that better than anyone else. His family is weak and injured because of him. If he leaves to go on your wild goose chase, who will protect his family?"

            They all sat there in silence as a terrible weight of gloom settled on them. Their cause was lost. They were helpless against Naraku, if he still existed. And if he didn't, then Miroku was doomed to die. The Shikon no Tama would never be completed. The circle was broken.

**Author's Note (again): **I was just thinking… Isn't it strange that even though you may know someone through the Internet, you really don't know them? You don't even know how they look like! If you were walking across the street someday and accidentally bumped into someone, that someone may actually be a friend that you only know through the Internet. That's scary. I was just thinking, what if I actually saw one of my favorite fanfiction authors waltzing around everyday, and I never knew it was them!

Okay, enough about that, the true purpose of this author's note is to ask a question. What does Inuyasha call his mother in the anime and manga? Does he call her a.) ofukuro, or b.) haha-ue, or c.) okaa-san? And when does he use these words? I noticed that when Inuyasha was talking to Kagome about his mother, he used a certain word, but when he was talking to his mother, he used another word, and I can't, for the life of me, remember what word it is! Please tell me if you can! Oh, by the way, this question has practically nothing to do with _this_story.


	35. Shattered Dreams

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Shattered Dreams**

            Shippou tried desperately to free Kohaku from the youkai's grasp. He didn't want to use his powered up fox fire for he was afraid of injuring Kohaku, but he didn't know what else to do. All he was doing was changing forms to try and wrench Kohaku from the seaweed demon before he suffocated Kohaku, but he was failing miserably. Already Kohaku had fallen unconscious from the lack of oxygen. A bit more, and he would die.__

_            I'm so weak! Why can't I save my friend? It's just one person and I can't even manage to help them,_ he reprimanded himself, fear driving him to change into another form. _He risked his life to free me, and now I can't even save him!_

            Kohaku had stabbed a stick into the youkai and popped one of his strange bulbous structures, causing the youkai to shriek in pain and let Shippou go. But for revenge, he had grabbed Kohaku instead, and was now choking the life out of him.

_            Help me, someone…anyone! Help me…Inuyasha…_ Shippou cried. He was too small. He was too weak. He would never amount to anything; he would never be able to help those he loved; he would forever be a burden to his friends.

            "Kitsune-bi!" he shouted, resorting to his last power. However, the demon just used an extension of the seaweed to snuff the fire out, rendering Shippou powerless to stop the monster. Shippou changed his form again, this time borrowing the form of Inuyasha.

            "Sankon Tetsusou!" Shippou shouted, driving his claws deep into the seaweed demon. But his claws just slipped harmless off the demon, causing the demon no injury. Shippou knew that it was hopeless; he had changed his form to imitate Inuyasha, but he could never be the real one.

            Miroku gazed as the water from the bamboo leaves dripped into the pond, causing small ripples in the otherwise calm surface. He felt alone. He was the only one who had the slightest motivation to go on with this mission, and he knew that he didn't have the right to drag anyone else down with him, especially Sango. Inuyasha had been right. He was doing this for his own benefit.

            He sighed as he leaned against the doorframe, watching the sunlight reflect off the pond's clear surface. And still the water drops from the leaves dripped down upon the glassy surface, rippling the peace of the water. He frowned. That was strange. A water droplet had just fallen into the pond, but instead on one ripple, it had formed two. Was that even possible? Was this some sort of omen?

            "Miroku," Sango said, startling him.

            "Yes?" he asked, putting on his best mask. He was a fool to let her get so close to him again. He was a fool, just like the first time.

            "Miroku, what's wrong?" she asked, her face radiating sorrow at something that he could not, or would not understand.

            "Nothing's wrong," he said, his mask still in place. He couldn't stand being with her anymore. He didn't want to hurt her even more.

            "Miroku, you idiot!" she shouted out suddenly. "Why are you always this way? Whenever you have the slightest of problems, you always turn away from the people who care about you. Well this time, I'm not going to let you go off alone! I don't care what you think of me. I don't care if you find me annoying. But I'm going to stay by your side, and if you try to pry me off, I'll make you wish you were never born!"

            Miroku only watched in silence as Sango yelled at him, and a true smile tugged at his mouth. Under normal circumstances, he would have been wary of Sango's threat, but it was difficult to heed her warning, especially since she was standing in front of him, weeping. His hand reached out to her and patted her shoulder slightly.

            "Sango," he said gently, waiting for her to make eye contact with him. "I would never try to pry you off. You know me," he said, laughing slightly, "You're the one who's going to have to pry me off you."

            He felt his heart lighten immensely when Sango offered a small smile. But it was short lived. He knew he was lying. When it came time to hunt Naraku, he was going to leave her. He wasn't going to be so selfish as to lead her to danger.

            Suddenly Sango caught him in a tight hug, and he could feel her shaking with her sobs. He didn't know what to do. Sango had never acted like this before. She was always the reserved one, the quiet one, the one that did not like to show her emotions of affection willingly. And here she was, hugging him? Wasn't she the one who had always admonished him for touching other people?

            "Don't leave me, Miroku," her muffled voice reached his ears. He felt himself stiffen. "Don't ever leave me. Promise me, Miroku. Promise me." He couldn't make this promise. He would never make this promise.

            "I…" he started, but he didn't know what to say.

            "I couldn't stand it if I lost you," she said, her voice soft. "I know it's selfish of me to think this way…" He wanted grab her and tell her that she wasn't selfish, that she was the least selfish person he had known, and that it was he who was selfish. It was he who was selfish enough to win a girl's affections, only to throw them away for the sake of regaining his life.

            "Sango…" he said, prying her gently away from him. _I guess I already went against my own words,_ he thought bitterly, as he remembered that he had just told her that he would never pry her off him.

            "Miroku," she interrupted before he could speak. "I will go with you. I will be there for you when you start your mission," she said determinedly. "As a youkai exterminator, it is my duty to exterminate scum like Naraku, so I will be there, alongside you…" _Until the very end, right Sango? But I don't want it to be your end. I don't want you to be there._

            Suddenly Souta burst through the front door, panting heavily.

            "H-help. Kohaku… Youkai," he said between breaths. Sango gasped in surprise.

            "Souta! What's wrong?" Kagome asked as she entered the hallway and saw her brother.

            "Someone. Help Kohaku and Shippou," Souta said as he slowly regained his breath.

            "Where?" Miroku demanded. He couldn't let Kohaku die. He couldn't bear to see Sango sad again.

            "The park," Souta barely had enough time to say before Miroku was out the door, running towards the nearby park. He was closely followed by Sango, then by Kagome.

_            Please let us get there in time,_ he prayed. But what was he going to do once he got there?

            Shippou leaned against the tree, trying to catch his breath. He was so close that time. He had almost gotten Kohaku free, but that stupid youkai had to grab him back into his mess of weeds again. At least Kohaku had gotten some badly needed air in those few minutes, but now the cycle was repeating again, and Shippou knew that he didn't have the strength to fight this demon forever.

            Suddenly a curved stick swung through the air and hit the youkai on the back of his head. Shippou looked and saw that Sango, Kagome and Miroku had arrived. He let out a sigh of relief. They would help him. But where was Inuyasha?

            "Let my brother go," Sango said firmly, though Shippou saw no means for Sango to fight the demon with. Undoubtedly, the demon noticed it too.

            "Sango-chan, use Tetsusaiga's barrier," Kagome said as she gave Sango the sword that she had been holding when she left Toutousai. Sango took the sword in her hand dubiously, and swung the sword with its sheath still on at the demon. The gooey blob only laughed at Sango's efforts. The outer layer of seaweed was being melted by Tetsusaiga's barrier, but it seemed to not injure the youkai at all.

            Suddenly Sango made a downward sweep with the sword, cutting Kohaku free from the tentacles of seaweed. Kagome quickly pulled Kohaku away, but the youkai suddenly grabbed them both and enveloped them in the suffocating weeds.

            "Kitsune-bi!" Shippou shouted frantically, trying to get the two out. He had to risk hurting them, otherwise the two would die in the youkai's embrace. But his attack once again had no effect.

            "Damn it! If I only had a weapon…" Shippou heard Miroku say to himself. Shippou felt despair start to creep into his young bones. His fox fire did not affect the demon. Miroku could not use his air void unless he wanted everyone to die. Sango had no weapon, except for Tetsusaiga, which no one could use except for Inuyasha. They were going to be doomed.

            "Shippou!" Miroku shouted, "Can you transform yourself into a weapon?"

            Shippou nodded quickly and ran to Miroku. But as he ran there, the youkai suddenly loomed in front of him and tried to grab him again. Shippou quickly scampered away from the demon, but the demon only turned around and caught Miroku instead.

            Shippou tried to turn himself into a blade and cut the youkai, but in his panic, he turned into a pan instead. He cursed himself. He saw Miroku smile slightly at the child's blunder.__

_            Stupid Miroku. How can he smile at a time like this?_ Shippou thought to himself grumpily as he tried to transform again. He turned into a giant ax and tried to cut down the youkai, but he tripped over his tail._ Why do I have a tail?_ Shippou wondered. He looked at his transformation and saw that it was only half complete. What was going on? He tried to transform into something else, but that one didn't turn out too well either. He looked at the shard in his hand to see if it was malfunctioning, and saw that the shard was glowing with a strange purple light.

            He heard Sango scream Miroku's name as he was swallowed in the ocean of seaweeds, and he tried to grab Miroku, but he couldn't. Something was wrong with the shard. It was trying to rip itself out of his hand. He quickly clamed his other hand over his hand, and kept the shard in place. Sango threw Tetsusaiga at the youkai, only to have it flung back over her head, where someone caught the sword. Suddenly the pull on the shard was dispersed and the Shikon shard returned to its original color.

            Inuyasha ran as fast as he could towards the park. They were so stupid! How could they have gone after a youkai without any assistance? Not that he could have been any help, but still! They were going to get themselves killed.

            He could see a place in the park where the trees were moving around strangely as if something was whipping against them. He was going to take a wild guess that the youkai was there.

            He suddenly felt something tug inside him, but he ignored it and the feeling passed. He wondered if he was starting to imagine things. He wasn't given much time to let his mind wander before a sword was thrown through the trees right at him. He caught the sword on instinct and saw that it was Tetsusaiga. Had they tried to fight with this broken sword? _No… The blade is still in the sheath…_

            He ran up to where the sword had come from and saw that everyone, except for Shippou, had been caught by the smelly demon. It didn't look like he had much time before they all suffocated to death. Miroku and Sango were still struggling to get out, but Kagome…__

_            Kagome!_

            He swung Tetsusaiga out of its sheath angrily and sliced the top of the seaweed youkai off, causing the ball of weeds to fall apart and release its victims. Miroku and Sango were both coughing, trying to get the slime out of their lungs, but Kagome and Kohaku weren't moving.

            "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, running towards her. He didn't know why he was so worried about her. It wasn't like he had known her for that long…

            To his relief, she coughed out the slime and started breathing again. Sango quickly went to her brother, and soon both were conscious again, slimy, but conscious.

            "Inuyasha…" Kagome coughed. "Y-you… You can touch Tetsusaiga!"

            He looked in surprise as he realized that he really **had **taken the sword out and used it. What did that mean?

            Suddenly something black moved out from under the pile of seaweed. The being swung its slick black hair over its shoulder and its piercing electric silver eyes gazed at them in contempt.

            "Do you really think that it is so easy to defeat me?" he asked. Inuyasha shoved Kagome behind him on instinct.

            "Bastard. What did you think you were doing?" growled Inuyasha, Tetsusaiga in front of him and ready to cut the demon down.

            "I was having fun. What did it look like I was doing?" he asked, his voice cool and calm. He raised one hand in front of him, and electricity started to spark between his obsidian nails.

            "What is it?" Kagome asked, not realizing that she was hiding behind Inuyasha like she used to.

            "He's an electric eel youkai," Inuyasha replied softly, trying to find his opponent's weakness. "He was hiding in the seaweed so that you wouldn't know his true form. Eel youkai often do that."

            Suddenly the youkai attacked, his fist of electricity coming towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha parried with Tetsusaiga, but felt the shock of electricity run through his arms. But he didn't let go of the sword. He knew that was what the youkai wanted.

            "Guess that didn't work," the youkai said. Inuyasha noticed that the youkai seemed to be listening to someone. But who? He couldn't hear anyone.

            "All right, kid, give me the shard," the youkai said lazily, whipping his long black hair behind him.

_            What shard? Oh yeah… Stupid Shikon no Tama…_

            "Get it if you can," Inuyasha challenged. He could feel the power of Tetsusaiga pulsing through him. He would slice down that youkai the next time he attacked.

            Predictably, the youkai attacked, using the exact same attack as before.

            "Prepare to die!" the youkai shouted, electricity pulsing through his arm.

            "Impudent!" Inuyasha said as he sliced the youkai. The eel youkai turned around in the last minute so only his hair had been sliced off.

            "Why you little—!" the youkai cursed as he surveyed his damaged hair. "I'll get you for that! Do you know how much seaweed I had to invest in to get my hair as shiny as this?" he demanded. Inuyasha thought that he was being a bit oversensitive about his lousy hair. He made a move as if to blast the group with a shot of his electricity when he suddenly twitched and his entire manner changed.

            He looked up slowly and smiled in a way foreign to Inuyasha, but all too familiar to the others.

            She carefully placed her queen in the designated area, waiting patiently for her partner to make the next move.

            "Your turn," she said silkily. Her opponent suddenly twitched and looked around frantically.

            "Wha—where am I?" he demanded.

            "Just play the game. Tono-sama should be back soon. Then you can return to your own body," she said calmly, waiting for him to move his piece.

            "What the hell are you talking—Oh shit!" he cussed as he realized what was going on. "Put me back! Put me back now!" he shouted at her face. She just brushed a stray hair out of her face idly.

            "I don't have the power to do that," she said, yawning.

            "You bit—" but he was cut off.

            "So, how did it go?" she asked, calm as ever.

            "I want you to remove that sword from him."

            "I figured you lost," she said, and was unprepared for the blow that hit her. She fingered her quickly bruising cheek slightly and cursed him.

            "Go now. And I don't want to hear any more disrespect from you," he said.

            "Of course, **tono-sama**," she said sarcastically as she left the door. _Fucking asshole,_ she thought as she touched her swelling cheek that was quickly healing itself again. _If it weren't for the fact that he has my heart, I would have ended his life long ago…_

            "Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted as the demon was sliced into hundreds of tiny pieces. The trees behind him were blown off their roots, and a majority of the park lay in ruins. It was a good thing that people had the sense to get away while the battle was occurring, otherwise he didn't know how many would have been injured.

            "This sword is pretty handy," he said as the large blade returned to its rusty condition.

            "Inuyasha, you did it," Kagome said, still not quite believing that he had destroyed the youkai. Everything had happened so fast. The rest of the group gathered around him, Sango holding her still weak brother.

            "Now we have a chance to defeat Naraku!" Kagome said enthusiastically. Inuyasha could tell that she was only putting up that attitude as a front. He could feel that the resolve of the group was greatly weakened. He didn't know why or how it had happened, but he wasn't going to let his friends fall apart from each other. 

He swallowed his own feelings as he said, "Yeah! Let's go kick Naraku's ass!" He saw the group smile slightly at his comment before immediately frowning.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing… It's just that Inuyasha said that right before he…" Kagome said softly. _Oops. Guess I better watch what I say from now on… But how am I supposed to know what the old Inuyasha said?_

"It doesn't matter. This is definitely Naraku's work, and I'm going to kill him for hurting my brother," Sango said, her eyes unforgiving. Inuyasha could feel that the others were afraid of Sango's wrath, and he had to agree with them. Sango was scary when she was angry.

"He did sort of act like Naraku after you cut his hair off," Kagome said thoughtfully. Suddenly Shippou shouted out a warning and sent his fox fire over Inuyasha's head, to someone behind him.

"Brat," the female youkai spat, moving away from the fire. She seemed really sensitive to it.

"Aki?" Inuyasha asked in surprise.

"Inuyasha, you know this person?" asked Kagome.

"Don't you remember her?" Inuyasha said as he took the sword out of the sheath again. "She was the lady that accompanied Naraku on my grandfather's birthday!"

He didn't wait for Kagome's answer as the youkai suddenly attacked him. He moved clumsily away from her. This youkai wasn't like the one he had just fought. She was infinitely more skilled, and more deadly.

"I would ask politely for you to give me your sword, but I don't think you would give it to me freely," she said as she shot some strange liquid from her fingers which melted the wood that it touched. Inuyasha made a mental note to stay away from it.

"Did Naraku send you?" he asked as he tried to dodge her poisonous shots. It was like some sort of acid and was dark purple in color.

"Tsk, tsk, such an impolite child," she said as she moved in to punch him. Inuyasha frantically swung the sword, forgetting all of his grandfather's lessons.

"Ouch!" she said as she backed off, her severed arm still twitching in the grass. "You're going to pay dearly for that," she said, "It has been a long time since someone has last cut me. You're going to regret it…"

Suddenly her arm grew back out, and the severed limb was starting to grow a body.

"What the…?" exclaimed Miroku as two youkai that looked identical stood before them. Suddenly they both shot the acidic poison at them.

"It's like miasma!" Kagome shouted as she tried to move away from the poison.

"Why are there two of them?" asked Sango as she tried to protect her brother from the miasma-like substance.

"Foolish little children," the two of them cooed. "You should have tried to figure out what kind of youkai we were before you started hacking us to pieces."

"They're sea stars!" Shippou said in realization.

"Nope, we're not sisters," one of them joked.

"That's a bad pun," the other said. She only shrugged. The first one charged towards Shippou, poison dripping off her fingers as she reached for the boy's hand.

"Kaza Ana!" Miroku shouted, sucking the youkai in. The other one looked in shock as her twin disappeared into the hole in Miroku's hand.

"Oh well," she said calmly. "That just saves me the trouble of killing her later." She smiled at the group's appalled looks. "I'll have to remember to stay away from you," she said to Miroku as she turned her attention to the sword in Inuyasha's hands.

She started attacking Inuyasha faster than before, not giving Miroku the chance to suck her in his air void. Inuyasha could feel himself start to tire. He didn't have the endurance of a youkai, and he was starting to be unable to dodge her fast attacks.

Suddenly she grabbed the flat edge of the blade, using both her hands, and wouldn't let go. Inuyasha couldn't understand what she was doing and tried to pull the sword away from her. But her grip was inhumanly strong and she slid her hands slightly apart from each other in a move to break the sword. Inuyasha used all his energy to pry the sword out of her grasp but he still couldn't.

The ringing of the sword could be heard miles away as the blade shattered into two, returning to its rusty form. A wave of power rushed out of the sword, dispersing in the clear sapphire sky. The fang was destroyed; the power of Tetsusaiga broken; the dreams of the future shattered.

Naraku's reign was soon beginning.

**Author's Note:** Have you figured out why Naraku is still there even though he was killed by Kikyo?


	36. Delusions

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Delusions**

            He watched in silence as the spell disappeared. He had figured as much, and now he had the evidence to the location of the Shikon no Tama. A few moments later, Aki appeared.

            "Why didn't you warn me about the backlash?" she demanded. "If I hadn't been careful, then I might have been caught in Tetsusaiga's shockwave!"

            "I take it you managed to destroy the blade?" he asked, a plan forming in his mind.

            "Yeah, yeah. The all mighty demon blade won't be bothering you no more," she said, sitting lazily in a nearby chair. "So, you going to kill Hayashi?"

            "Don't be foolish. You know how much the other youkai would object if I took power **that** way," he said. "Besides, all my careful planning will go to waste if I kill him so bluntly."

            "At least the other guy did **some** useful things before he died," she said, putting away the chess pieces. "Now we know for sure where all the Shikon shards are."

            He looked out of the window, the afternoon sun glinting off his cold cruel eyes. He smiled slightly as he started to put his plan into action.

            Toutousai stared at the remains of Tetsusaiga, trying not to look too dismayed that his masterpiece had been broken so easily. He fingered the hilt of Tetsusaiga lightly, and almost imagined that he could see the rest of the blade in its entire rusty splendor.

            "Err… Can you fix it?" Musashino asked hopefully. He tried not to take his anger out on the boy. After all, it was his first time using it against a full youkai.

            "A sword in this state can never be fixed, even by the best sword smith," Toutousai said, still staring at the sword's shattered remains.

            "So what are we supposed to do?" asked Kagome, an air of despair about her.

            "The only thing that I can do is make a new sword," he answered, "but the new blade will never have the power of Tetsusaiga. I can make it to look the same, but the power behind it will be significantly different."

            "How different?" asked Miroku, not protesting when Sango moved to sit right next to him.

            "Different," answered Toutousai. "Think: no power at all."

            "No power? How are we supposed to fight with no power?" demanded Kagome.

            "You can't," Toutousai said sharply. "And by the looks of things, more youkai will come to attack you for the Shikon shards that you hold. I suggest you to run away and hide."

            "Run away and hide? What kind of advice is that?" asked Souta, not liking the old man one bit.

            "Either run or die. Take your pick," Toutousai said bluntly.

            "How about fight?" asked Souta. "Why can't we do that?"

            "You're not going to fight anyone, Souta," Kagome said firmly.

            "Nee-chan!" Souta protested. "Everyone got to fight except me. Even Kohaku and Shippou fought against that youkai!"

            "You're not going to fight!" Kagome shouted. "You don't have any power at all. You'll only get yourself hurt!"

            "Listen to your Nee-chan, Souta," Inuyasha said. "She's pretty smart when she puts her mind to it."

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome protested against his teasing.

            "If Inu-nii-chan says so, then fine," Souta said, pouting slightly. Kagome fumed at Souta.

            "Why won't you listen to **me**?" asked Kagome.

            "Because you're not 'cool,'" Inuyasha answered cheekily.

            "Do you want me to give you bodily harm?" Kagome threatened. He wisely decided to be quiet.

            "Ahem," Toutousai interrupted them, "As I was saying, the original Tetsusaiga cannot be fixed. However, a new sword can be made."

            "Yeah. One with no power," Miroku said.

            "Wrong. One with power equal or surpassing Tetsusaiga's own power," Toutousai said mysteriously. After he was sure that he had all of their attention, he continued. "The power of Tetsusaiga did not come from me. I merely built a vessel to contain the power. The true power of Tetsusaiga came from Inutaisho, and I just sealed the power within the sword. The wave of power that you felt escape Tetsusaiga when it was broken was his power. The reason I cannot repair the sword is because the force behind it is missing. I would just be repairing a shell."

            "So let's get some mighty youkai to seal their power within the sword," Inuyasha suggested simply.

            "Don't be a fool. The only way that you'll be able to use a sword with the same nature as Tetsusaiga is if the new sword is made with your own power. Otherwise, you'll be unable to harness the blade's power," Toutousai said.

            "But Tetsusaiga wasn't made with Inuyasha's power, yet he was still able to use it," Kagome said reasonably.

            "You forget that Tetsusaiga's nature is to protect the people the holder cares for," Toutousai said, "Inuyasha was able to use it because he had that emotion in him. However, if a new sword is made, then what triggers the new sword's power will be different from what triggered Tetsusaiga's power. If Musashino does not have that exact same feeling that the owner of the power had, then he will be unable to use the sword. It would take too long to discover what triggers the sword, and time is something that you don't have."

            "Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Sango. "How are we supposed to fight Naraku?"

            "I still opt for you to run away from all of this and leave youkai politics to youkai," Toutousai said. "If Naraku causes things to get out of hand, then other youkai will take care of it. You needn't worry about anything."

            " 'Needn't worry about anything?' I have plenty to worry about!" Sango shouted suddenly. "My brother was almost killed again because of Naraku! Do you think that I'm going to forgive him that easily? I won't stop until he's dead! Do you understand?"

            Everyone looked at Sango's sudden outburst in shock. They had never imagined her to be so violent, but then again, things were taking a turn for the worst, and Sango was getting stressed, no doubt just like the rest of them.

            "It's strange how Naraku never seems to die," Shippou pondered out loud. The same thoughts were running through everyone else's minds.

            "Ane-ue, is it okay if we go home now?" Kohaku asked.

            "Sure," Sango said, getting up. She stopped suddenly and looked at her brother in wonder. "Did you just call me…?"

            "What?" asked Kohaku as Kagome and Miroku started to look at him funny.

            " 'Ane-ue.' You called me 'Ane-ue,'" Sango said in surprise.

            "I'm sorry. It just slipped out," Kohaku apologized, feeling nervous.

            "Then, you don't remember?" asked Sango, sounding disappointed.

            "Remember…?" Kohaku asked, but decided that he didn't want to know.

            "Never mind," Sango said, shaking her head. "Let's get you home."

            "I'll go with you," Kagome said. "Souta and Shippou need to get home, too. And no 'buts,'" she said, cutting off their protests.

            "I shall escort you and Kagome," Miroku said. "It's not safe anywhere now." Sango nodded her consent and they started to exit the house.

            "See you tomorrow, Inuyasha," Kagome called.

            "See you guys later!" Inuyasha waved good-bye.

            All the way back, the group walked in silence. Finally, Sango spoke.

            "Before I died, I realized that the reason Kohaku never returned to my side was because he didn't want to remember what he had done. He didn't want to remember what had happened to him," Sango said in a soft voice. Kohaku looked questioningly at his sister but she just rubbed his head affectionately. "I'm talking about my past life, Kohaku. Did you know that in my past life, I had a brother named Kohaku also? He looked and acted exactly like you."

            "Are you dreaming?" Kohaku asked, worried for his sister's health. She shook her head, smiling sadly.

            "All this that I've been doing for the past few weeks concern my past life. I was chasing after Naraku because of something done in the past. But now, I'm hunting him down for what he did to you," Sango said, her voice turning cold.

            "Who's Naraku?" Kohaku asked, but he didn't really want to know.

            "He was the demon that destroyed my family in my past life," Sango said, doing her best to keep the anger out of her voice.

            "Oh," Kohaku said, wishing that his sister would stop talking about such things. She was making him nervous.

            "You don't want me to talk about this, do you?" Sango asked curiously. He hesitantly shook his head. "It's just as I thought… Guys, I think I realize what's wrong with Inuyasha." They all stared at her, wondering if the afternoon's events had made her crazy.

            "What's wrong with Inuyasha?" asked Shippou.

            "He's probably just like Kohaku," Sango said, getting more confident with her hypothesis with every step. "He doesn't want to remember. That's why no matter what happens, and no matter what we do to try to get him to remember, he can't."

            "What do you mean?" asked Kagome, wondering why would Inuyasha not want to remember what happened in the past.

            "Inuyasha didn't exactly live an ideal life, you know," Sango said, "If you lived his life, would you like to remember what happened? Would you spent your next life living in the shadow of your past life?"

            "But we all have our own sorrows and pain," Miroku said, "Surely Inuyasha is strong enough to live those emotions again."

            "We're not talking about a case of strength here," Sango said. "We're talking about emotions. Would you like to feel pain if you didn't have to?"

            "I suppose not," Miroku answered, starting to consider Sango's theory.

            "Kohaku didn't remember until our lives were in danger because of Naraku," Sango said, her voice amazingly steady and calm. "It is likely that Inuyasha will never remember what happened in the past if he's preventing himself from remembering. Only if our lives are in danger will he have the possible chance of remembering."

            "How do you know Inuyasha is preventing himself from remembering?" demanded Shippou. "Maybe he just can't remember."

            "Shippou, we've tried to get him to remember, and even when his own life was in danger, and things of the past appeared before him, he still didn't remember," Sango said. "You would think that if he saw something familiar, he would suddenly remember, but it hasn't been like that. The methods that worked on Miroku and I aren't working on Inuyasha."

            "That sounds logical," Miroku said. "It does sort of seem like Inuyasha is trying to stop himself from remembering. All that youki that he absorbed might be to place a seal on his own memories. That would explain why every time he absorbed youki, he seemed to have some sort of amnesia."

            "But what about the time when he sucked all of his family's youki?" Shippou asked, still unconvinced that Inuyasha would ever want to stop himself from remembering. "Kagome never mentioned that he was having amnesia or anything."

            "That's true. Inuyasha didn't forget anything that time," Miroku said, a puzzled expression on his face. "And he absorbed an awful lot that time, too…"

            "I don't have the answers to everything," Sango said. "All I have are guesses. I don't know why he didn't forget that time, but…"

            "Maybe Inuyasha did not want to forget what had happened at that moment?" asked Kohaku, trying to be helpful.

            "It may be logical that Inuyasha decided not to seal his entire memories that time because he may not have wanted to forget what Naraku did to him," Miroku said, trying to solve the puzzle. "If he forgot, then his family would be susceptible to danger. Maybe Inuyasha wanted to forget, but I'm sure Musashino would never allow himself to forget his family's enemies."

            "Guys," Kagome interrupted in a small voice. "I think it's the Shikon no Tama."

            "What about the Shikon no Tama?" asked Sango, looking at her friend.

            "He saw the Shikon no Tama after he woke up. The Shikon no Tama appeared when that scorpion attacked him. He has the Shikon no Tama. So…" Kagome looked unsure about what she had to say, but she said it anyway. "Maybe he's borrowing the power from the Shikon no Tama to bury his own memories?" 

            "It's probable," Miroku said, frowning. "That would make sense since none of this weird stuff happened before his little visit to the hospital."

            "So Inuyasha is using the Shikon no Tama to keep himself from remembering?" asked Sango.

            "He's probably using the Shikon no Tama and youkai's youki to block his memories," Miroku said, the picture forming before him.

            "I think everything makes sense now," Souta said, trying to follow along with their train of thought.

            "But then we still have the problem of getting Inuyasha to remember. That is, if he wants to," Kagome said, trying to hide her own jumbled opinions about the matter from her friends. They approached near her home, and Mrs. Higurashi walked a bit out towards them.

            "Kagome!" her mother called. "Souta! Shippou! Hurry up already. It's getting late."

            "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Kagome asked as she led Shippou and Souta up the stairs.

            "Bye, Kagome," Sango called after her friend.

            "See you tomorrow," Miroku said.

            The three soon left the shrine and continued on, watching the city light up as night descended upon them. Sango walked next to Miroku, and Kohaku trailed behind them. A moment later, Sango and Miroku's hands found each other and the distance between them shortened. Suddenly Miroku let go of her hand.

            "Miroku, what…?"

            "I'm sorry, Sango," he apologized, looking away from her. "I don't think that you should join this battle against Naraku."

            "Why?" demanded Sango. "I can fight just as well as the rest of you."

            "It's not that," Miroku said, continuing to walk. "It's just that…"

            "Miroku, is this one of your hare-brained attempts to protect me?" Sango asked, starting to look annoyed.

            "Ah…"

            "How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself!" said Sango, "It's you that I'm worried about. Always going off by yourself on a suicide mission. Don't you know that there are people who care about you? Don't you have any concerns for others' feelings?"

            "It's because I care that I do what I do," said Miroku, getting slightly irritated with how Sango was categorizing him as.

            "If you care, then you should let others care about you too," she said, "Caring isn't a one sided thing. That'll only lead to tragedy, and unless you want to head for tragedy, you should stop trying to fix everything by yourself."

            "And do what? Allow other people to get in danger because of me?" he asked. "You know I can't do that."

            "Why do you always assume the worst, you pessimist?" asked Sango. "Have you ever thought that maybe if you had friends helping you, you would have a greater chance of surviving?"

            "Oh, you mean like the last time I joined a group and instead most of the group ended up dead?" asked Miroku sarcastically.

            "If we hadn't banded together, then we might have not survived as long as we did," she said, trying to be calm. "At least we got to know each other."

            "And I got to see the people I care about die," Miroku said, turning away from her again. "Thanks, but no thanks. I rather do everything by myself."

            "So you can do what? Spare others of feeling grief over your death?" demanded Sango angrily. "Do you honestly think that no one will miss you after you die? What are you trying to protect us from?"

            "I have spent the majority of my life trying not to get close to anyone because of the fact that I did not want to have to hurt anyone like my father hurt me," Miroku shouted. "It would be against my conscience if I forced anyone to feel such a way for me," he added in a quiet voice.

            "Miroku…" Sango said in a softer tone, "No one is being forced to be your friend. No one is being forced to stand by you."

            "No one is ever forced to do something," Miroku said in an emotionless voice, "but they are forced to regret their actions later."

            "Miroku!" Sango said, exasperated. "Why can't you just get it through your thick head that I love you and I would be willing to be with you till the very end," she said, her face flushing with slight embarrassment at her words. Miroku was blushing furiously also.

            "Yeah, um, well… I-I don't want to have to see your end," he stammered, feeling at a loss for words all of a sudden.

            "Don't be so selfish!" Sango said, not quite knowing what she was saying.

            "Are you forcing me to see your death?" asked Miroku, trying to recover from his embarrassment.

            "No one can ever force anyone else to do something," Sango said, throwing his own words back at him.

            "All right, all right. I concede," he said, realizing that he could never win a verbal fight when pitted against a woman. "Though I don't know why you are so eager to jump to your death."

            "You should know well why," Sango said, finding the pavement very interesting.

            "Yeah, for your brother," Miroku teased.

            "Miroku!"

            "Fine, fine," he said, smiling. "Err, if it's okay with you, that is, I…I feel the same way for you," he added sheepishly.

            "Why would you ask if it's okay?" asked Sango, trying to keep herself from turning completely red. "After all, the feeling is mutual."

            She wasn't exactly surprised when Miroku took her hands in his again, enveloping it in his warmth. She looked up at him and their eyes locked. She had never realized how handsome he looked when the light from the shop window shone behind him. She could feel their heads leaning closer when…

            "Get a room, you guys," Kohaku said, feeling grossed out by his sister's actions. "You're making me sick."

            "Kohaku!" Sango shouted as Kohaku ran off to their home. "Uh… Sorry about that, Miroku but… I gotta go," she said, quickly running off into the night.

            Miroku only smiled to himself as he headed to his own house. Things didn't exactly turn out the way he wanted, but he figured it was better this way.

            Shippou was walking home from school by himself. Souta was having a field trip, so wouldn't be back home until later, and Kagome and Sango had gone off somewhere, giggling like madwomen. He couldn't remember if Inuyasha and Miroku had kendo club today, but the point was that he was walking home alone. He kicked at a nearby pebble, feeling bored. There was no one to talk to, and school had been pretty boring that day.

            Just as he sighed, someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

            "Kagome? What are you doing here?" he asked, wondering where Sango had gone.

            "What? I can't walk a friend home anymore?" Kagome said. Shippou expected Kagome to smile and ruffle his hair, or show some other sign of affection, but she didn't. He wondered if he had done something wrong.

            "Where's Sango?" he asked, continuing on his journey home.

            "She's gone home," Kagome said, her blank face smiling all of a sudden. Shippou thought that she was acting a bit strange. Come to think of it, Kagome was wearing an awful amount of perfume today. Had she gone on a date with someone? _Maybe she got into a fight with Inuyasha, which is why she's acting so weird. But there wasn't enough time for her to go on a date anyway, so why the perfume?_

            "What are you thinking?" she asked, breaking his train of thoughts.

            "Nothing," Shippou answered, grinning childishly. "I was just thinking how nice it is that all of us are together again."

            "Hmm," Kagome said, not really listening to him. "Listen, can I borrow the Shikon shard in your hand for a while?"

            "Huh?" Shippou asked in surprise, wondering where that question had come from. "Why?"

            "Oh… You know the Shikon shard grants youkai some temporary power, right?" asked Kagome. Shippou nodded cautiously. Was she saying that he was no longer needed, so the Shikon shard he held could be given to someone else?

            "Since Musashino—I mean, Inuyasha's family is weak right now, I thought that maybe I could borrow your shard and give them a little boost," Kagome said reasonably. Was this what had been bothering her?

            "Kagome, how come you don't want to use your Shikon shard?" Shippou asked, feeling uneasy around Kagome all of a sudden. It wasn't that he didn't want to give up the Shikon shard, it was just that her request seemed so odd in his ears…

            "I… I don't want to haul so much of the Shikon shard around. It's much safer where it is," Kagome answered. "If I just take the little piece that you have, the loss won't be as great if I lose it."

            "Okay…" Shippou said reluctantly, opening his palm and starting to get the shard out.

            "Thanks, Shippou-kun," Kagome said. Shippou froze. _Shippou-kun?_

            He quickly moved away from Kagome, closing his fist and protecting the shard that he held. This wasn't Kagome. Kagome had never before called him "Shippou-kun." So who was this?

            "Shippou-chan, what's the matter?" asked Kagome, looking worried.

            "Why did you just call me 'Shippou-kun'?" Shippou asked suspiciously. Could this person before him be Naraku? 

            "Don't be silly. I just thought that you were old enough and mature enough so that I could call you 'Shippou-kun' instead of 'Shippou-chan' now," Kagome said. _That makes sense…_ "Don't get all paranoid on me," Kagome joked. 

_Is this really Kagome or am I really being paranoid? _thought Shippou. _But what if it isn't Kagome? What if I'm giving the Shikon shard to Naraku?_

"I don't have all day," Kagome said rather impatiently. _The perfume, the strange change of personality… Is this really not Kagome?_

"All right," Shippou said, smiling deceivingly. "I'll give it to you," he said, opening his palm. "Don't you think it's funny that in this life Sango's family runs a bakery?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Kagome said, frowning. Shippou frowned along with her. Such a neutral answer didn't really tell him anything.

"And what a coincidence that someone who looks exactly like Kouga is here!" Shippou said boyishly. "Don't you think it's weird that Sango fell in love with Kouga in this lifetime?"

"Uh… Sure," Kagome answered. Shippou quickly moved away from her again, knowing for sure this time that this was definitely not Kagome. What kind of friend would not know the person whom her friend loved?

"Get away now before I blast you!" Shippou said, getting ready to fight to the death if need be.

"I suppose it is no use trying to convince you anymore," the person who looked like Kagome said. "But it really makes no difference to me. I **will** have that shard, even if it takes your blood to free it."

Shippou shivered in fear, but he would stand firm. This was definitely not Kagome. Kagome had entrusted him with the Shikon shard, and he was going to protect it, even if it cost him his life.

The person attacked him suddenly and without warning. Shippou barely dodged the first strike, and he had only dodged it thanks to the borrowed power from the Shikon shard. The person attacked again in a series of punches, giving Shippou little time to think of a plan.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a crowd start to gather around them, watching in awe as the two had their death match. They probably just thought that an older sister was training her younger brother. How very wrong they were.

Shippou knew that with so many spectators around, it wouldn't be wise of him to use any youkai power. Kagome had once said to him that she didn't want the people of her time to know because they weren't ready for the youkai world, so he couldn't use his youkai power now. All the people here would see, and he would have failed Kagome in his unspoken promise.

Suddenly, Shippou's opponent delivered a kick that he wasn't expecting. The hit connected with him and knocked him down, making him lose his wind.

As he tried to get his breath back, "Kagome" reached down and grabbed his hand. Shippou let out a punch, which didn't seem to faze his enemy at all.

"What's all the commotion about?" a familiar voice shouted out in the crowd. Shippou clenched his fist closed, determined not to let the enemy win. "Kagome? What are you doing?" asked Inuyasha.

"No! That's not—" Shippou shouted, but "Kagome" was faster than him and attacked Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged the attack easily and grabbed Shippou away from her in the same movement.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Inuyasha grinned haughtily. "One would think that with all your years of experience, such a simple task would easily be accomplished," he said in a loud stage voice. "But alas, I fear that I have been wrong in my judgment of you." Shippou caught on to what he was doing. Inuyasha was trying to make everything seem like a play so the crowd wouldn't get suspicious about them.

"Lord! This knave has tried to lead me astray with promises of riches, but I resisted, Lord," Shippou said, making his expression grave. "I resisted for I would not betray you." Shippou was glad that he had lived long enough in the Sengoku Jidai to be able to pull that kind of language off.

"Be gone, Traitor!" Inuyasha said in a commanding voice. "Leave, lest the Gods of this land wreak their wrath upon you!"

The person who looked like Kagome frowned at them but left. They had won this battle.

"How do you like our play?" Inuyasha grinned at the audience, who applauded loudly. "Be on the lookout for the next one!" Inuyasha said cheerfully as the crowd dispersed.

"Don't tell me a thing," Inuyasha said before Shippou could say anything. "Someone just tried to steal your Shikon shard but you fought with them to keep it."

"How did you ever figure that out?" Shippou joked, starting to walk home again. He felt safe whenever Inuyasha was around. There was no doubt that this was the real one, for he had that distinct smell of nothingness around him, and whenever Shippou was with him, he felt a slight melodious hum come from the Shikon shard embedded in his hand.

"You know, the next time someone tries to kill you for the shard, just give it to them," Inuyasha said, surprising Shippou.

"But Inuyasha!" Shippou protested.

"It's much better that you were alive without the stupid shard than if you're dead," he said. "With that said, give me the shard."

"Huh?" Shippou wondered what was going on.

"Give the shard," Inuyasha said in a spooky voice. "Or I shall have to resort to bodily harm!"

"That's lame," Shippou said, turning away from Inuyasha.

"Oi! Don't ignore me!" Inuyasha said. "Aren't you afraid of what I might do to you?"

"Whatever," Shippou yawned, seemingly bored. He was glad, though. He was glad that Inuyasha cared enough to try to cheer him up.

"You're no fun at all," Inuyasha said, finally giving up his act.

"You should act more mature," Shippou said in a grown-up fashion.

"You're one to talk, kid," Inuyasha said, ruffling Shippou's hair for effect.

"Hey!" Shippou said, squirming away from Inuyasha. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Inuyasha, do you want to use the Shikon shard to help your family heal faster?"

"Nah," Inuyasha said. "They don't need a wimpy shard to help them heal."

"But the shard will help them heal faster than normal," Shippou said.

"Shippou, I can't give them the shards to help them heal because if I do, other youkai will realize that they have the shards, and then we'll be under attack," Inuyasha said. "That's the main reason why I don't want to use Shikon shards to help them."

"Oh," Shippou said, feeling slightly stupid.

"You don't have to worry about a thing," Inuyasha said. "My family's a tough lot. They'll be up and around in no time!"

Shippou knew that it wasn't true, but he didn't try to disagree with Inuyasha. He knew that Inuyasha was just trying to lessen the tension that had built up these last couple of days.

They were about to cross the road when Inuyasha suddenly stopped him.

"Aren't you going to give me your hand?" Inuyasha asked. "It would make me feel more at ease if I crossed the road this way instead of having you run whatever way you want."

Shippou was surprised at Inuyasha's request, but obeyed, feeling as if though he really was Inuyasha's brother. They crossed the road in the afternoon sun, and Shippou felt a certain calm happiness that he hadn't felt in a long time.

**Author's Note:** At the rate I'm writing this, this story isn't going to end anytime soon (sorry about that!) ^_^

I don't know about you, but I hate it when something ends. Of course if something never ends (like pokemon) that kind of pisses me off too.

For anyone who cares, the reason I didn't update last week was because 1.) I was stuck in traffic for a couple hours because my sister decided that she just **had** to eat at this one restaurant that's kind of far away, so we ended up driving all the way over there (facing traffic on the entire way) and when we got there, we found out that the restaurant had closed and was probably relocating to another place, so we had to drive all the way back (still facing traffic). 2.) My _lovely_ teachers decided that it was a great time to give lots of wonderful reports for us to do, not to mention study for a whole bunch of different quizzes that were coming up.

Anyway…

Thanks for all the nice reviews you people are giving me. It makes me get all enthusiastic about writing. However, I really need to know if I need improvements. If you feel like it, please leave some criticism or areas of improvement, okay?


	37. The Lost Shikon Shards

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Lost Shikon Shards**

            "So, how did it turn out?" asked the sea star youkai, entering the room after her master.

            "It is as I suspected," he said, shedding his disguise. "He has the Shikon shard. As to where he hides it remains a mystery to me."

            "I did as you commanded," she said, flopping down on a nearby chair. "Hayashi's region is going to have a little surprise tomorrow…"

            She sat there, bored, as the math teacher continued to explain incomprehensible formulas to the class. She fingered the Shikon shard around her neck lightly, letting her mind drift. She had decided to wear the shard ever since Shippou had told her what had happened in the afternoon. She hoped that it was true that youkai could no longer sense the shard, but she didn't trust the fact completely, so decided to keep the shard with her at all times. That way, she could keep an eye on the shard, and prevent her family from encountering any possible danger that might have occurred had the shard still been locked in her drawer.

            "Higurashi, please answer the question," the math teacher said sternly, jarring her from her thoughts. She started to panic, trying to figure out a way out of the situation. How was she supposed to answer the question if she wasn't listening?

            "Well?" the teacher asked, narrowing her eyes at her.

            "Err… 13?" she asked, taking a wild guess.

            "That is…correct," the teacher said, "Next time please look like you're paying attention, otherwise I will be inclined to think you are daydreaming."

            "Hai," Kagome said nervously, thanking her good luck. Suddenly, the lights in the room started flickering, and the sunlight flooding into the room disappeared.

            "What's going on?" someone asked.

            "Maybe there's a storm!"

            "Does that mean we can go home?"

            "Don't be ridiculous," the teacher said, trying to restore order to the classroom. "I'm going to call the office to find out what's happening. Please be silent for a moment." At that moment, all the lights in the classroom went out and the classroom fell into silence.

            "Will the phone still work if the lights are out?" someone asked the teacher.

            "Of course. They run on different lines," the teacher answered, dialing the number to the main office. The teacher held the phone to her ears, waiting patiently for someone on the other end to pick it up. Finally someone picked it up.

            "Yes…" the teacher responded to the person on the other line. "I understand. But… All right. No. No. Fine. Yes, I'll dismiss them."

            She turned to the students, worried. She hung up and still frowning, announced, "It seems like you can all go home early today. Some technical difficulties has occurred with the electric company, so the school will be having a black out for quite some time."

            The students started cheering at the prospect of having no more school, but Kagome started to frown.

            "That doesn't mean that I'm not giving you any homework," she said, effectively getting the class to quiet down and start grumbling. "Since you have the rest of the day to work on your homework, do problems 1 to 112 on pages 566 and 567. The extra practice will be good for you."

            "No!" the students started complaining. "We can't do our homework because the lights will probably be out at home too!" Many people agreed with this theory, so at last, the teacher decided not to give them any homework.

            "But you better study your notes!" the teacher called out after them as they left the room. Kagome stepped outside and waited as Inuyasha and the others caught up to her.

            "Something strange is going on," Miroku said as the four started walking towards Kagome's home. "There have been too many holidays this week."

            "Yeah. Don't know why we didn't have school on Monday," Inuyasha said. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

            Kagome had a strange feeling as if something evil was near her, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from. She wondered whether or not the cloudy weather was affecting her judgment, but doubted it. By instinct, she moved closer to Inuyasha, seeking his comforting presence. As she moved closer, she could feel the Shikon shards pulsing slightly, and she wondered what was causing it. Could it be Inuyasha?

            Suddenly, they saw Shippou being dragged away by Aki towards the mountain, and they quickly ran after him, their fear for the boy's safety rising.

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome shouted to the crying little boy, who was struggling to free himself of his captor.

            "Kagome!" he shouted, trying to transform into something that would give him enough power to break free from Aki's arms.

            "Stupid boy," she said scornfully. "Do you know nothing of sea stars? We operate on a vascular system, and though there is no water surrounding us, we use the air as a substitute. You can never possibly break free of a sea star."

            Kagome gritted her teeth as she ran after Shippou, sensing that the others were following her. The youkai was right. She had studied how sea stars opened clams to eat them, and knew that in a battle for endurance, the sea star always won.

            "Shippou, turn yourself into a heavy rock!" Inuyasha suggested, catching up to Kagome and starting to pass her.

            Shippou transformed himself into the biggest rock they had ever seen, but Aki just started using the suction cups on her palms to start breaking the rock apart. Shippou cried in pain, and quickly transformed back, allowing Aki to take him to the vicinity of the mountain, disappearing in the thick woods. The group followed him, but as soon as they entered the woods, they lost sight of the two, and no clues led them to the whereabouts of Shippou.

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome called out, her panic rising for her kidnapped friend. What did they want with Shippou? Was it because of the Shikon shard in his hand that caused him to be a target? Was his disappearance her fault?

            By the time they had wandered deep into the forest searching for Shippou, the sun was about to set, causing them to increase their pace.

            "What if that Shippou was just an illusion?" asked Sango as she looked at the woods increasing in darkness. The other three stopped in their tracks.

            "What if Sango is right?" Miroku pondered out loud, putting his senses on alert. "Perhaps this is just a scheme to get us out of human eyes so that they can kill us."

            "How very right you are," the familiar female voice rang out from the top of the tree.

            "Aki!" Inuyasha spat, his expression filled with anger.

            "Come down here and fight us!" Sango dared, but they all knew that they were in no condition to fight. They didn't even have their weapons.

            "Oh, you won't have the privilege of fighting me this time," she laughed. "Instead, you can fight this low level youkai. I'm sure he's still more than you can handle." A sea urchin appeared from the depths of the woods, and Aki left, laughing into the coming night.

            "So it was all an illusion," Miroku said. "But for what ultimate purpose?"

            "Talk later," Inuyasha grumbled. "How are we supposed to fight now?"

            "Why is it that Naraku keeps on sending sea animals to fight us?" asked Sango while looking around for anything that could serve as a weapon.

            "Maybe we should retreat," Kagome suggested tentatively. "We don't have any weapons to fight with."

            At that moment, a monk's staff, an exterminator's boomerang, a miko's bow and arrows, and a sword fell from the sky.

            "I don't want you running away without even trying to have some fun," the sea star youkai smiled. "This should aid you pathetic lot."

            Before they could respond, the sea urchin started shooting spikes of poison at them. Sango quickly picked up Hiraikotsu and used it to block the poisonous needles. The rest of them quickly picked up their weapons, and no sooner had they done so did the youkai start attacking again.

            "I heard that one of you managed to cut Aki-nee-chan," the youkai said. "If I kill you, then I'll be seen in better light in front of the others."

            "Get real!" Inuyasha yelled. The youkai brushed his violet spiky hair behind him, looking casually at Inuyasha.

            "I've heard of you," the youkai sneered. "Hayashi's grandson who cannot kill to save his life."

            "Kitsune-bi!" 

            The youkai dodged quickly to the side as a blue flame flew towards him, singeing his hair.

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

            "I knew something was wrong when you didn't return immediately from school," Shippou said. "So I transformed myself and sniffed you out."

            "Having one more person isn't going to help you much," the youkai said. He concentrated the poison into his hand and blasted the orb of venom towards the group. Inuyasha cut at the orb with his sword, dissipating the toxic power, but melting his sword into a twisted mess.

            "Great," Inuyasha said sarcastically as he threw the wasted blade away. "If that lousy blade couldn't stand against such a low level attack, how was it supposed to kill this guy?"

            Kagome notched an arrow into her bow and let the purifying arrow fly, only to have it swerve off course in the last minute, hitting the tree behind the youkai.

            "Trying to kill me?" the youkai asked, smiling in amusement. "Let's see how you deal with this!"

            Spikes started to rain down upon them, and it was all they could do to just avoid getting themselves skewered on the toxic needles.

            "You don't have time to be dancing with the ningen," the youkai laughed cruelly. "I've poisoned your entire family this morning. If you want them to live, you better defeat me, and you better defeat me fast."

            Kagome felt inexplicable anger flow out from Inuyasha, and a moment later, he had punched the youkai so hard that the youkai was knocked off his feet.

            "Dispel the poison now," he said in a calm, low voice.

            "Wouldn't that be nice?" the youkai grinned sarcastically as he slipped quickly away from Inuyasha, running towards Kagome. "I think I'll poison this friend of yours. I wonder how you'll react to that?" Kagome didn't have time to dodge and she felt the orb of poison knock her backwards, causing her to collide with someone. She felt the poison being purified, but was horrified when she noticed the Shikon shard around her neck break off from its chain.

            "Kagome are you—" Inuyasha asked.

            "The Shikon shard!" Kagome said frantically, trying to catch it before the youkai took it. Inuyasha grabbed the shard, but hissed in pain as he came in contact with it.

            "Inuyasha?" asked Kagome worriedly as he quickly dropped the shard. She noticed that the shard had become slightly larger.

            "The Shikon shard!" the youkai said in wonder. "Aki-nee-chan will give me a great reward if I give that to her."

            "Over my dead body, bastard," Inuyasha said, though his brow was covered with sweat from his painful contact with the shard.

            "Hiraikotsu!" Sango shouted as she let the boomerang fly in the youkai's moment of distraction. But the youkai evaded the attack.

            "Sango, lead him away, and I'll use my power," Miroku said, putting a hand on the prayer beads.

            "I don't think so," Aki said, seemingly to appear from nowhere. She was accompanied by many Saimyoushou. "Musashino, I would defeat this youkai quickly if I were you. You're family is already suffering from the effects of his poison."

            "Why do you want him to defeat that youkai so badly anyway?" Kagome demanded.

            "Do you think this is about defeating youkai, little girl?" the female youkai asked scornfully. "I could care less if he lost or not."

            "Kagome, watch out!" Shippou warned as a large spike flew through the air. Kagome ducked, screaming as she felt the spike nick her neck.

            "The poison doesn't affect her," the youkai said in wonder.

            "Defeat them already," Aki said. "This is getting boring."

            "Hai," he said as Aki once again disappeared from the battlefield. "Time to die, kiddies." A spike protruded from his arm and he slashed at Kagome. Kagome had nothing to protect her except her bow, so she blocked the spike with her bow, snapping her only weapon in half.

            "This makes things easier," he said, "Now you can't purify me whenever you want."

            "Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted as she swung Hiraikotsu at the youkai, forcing him to move.

            "Don't worry, we'll handle this," said Miroku as he ran after Sango.

            "They won't be able to defeat him fast enough," Inuyasha said worriedly. Kagome looked at the Shikon shard in her hand and wondered…

            "Inuyasha, you have the Shikon shards in you," she said quickly, ignoring his confused expression. "It seems that if you come in contact with the Shikon shard, the rest of it comes out." Kagome gulped nervously at her suggestion. Would taking the Shikon shards out of Inuyasha kill him? "If we can get the Shikon shards out, maybe we can give the shards to Shippou to power him up to defeat the youkai."

            "Kagome, are you sure I'm even going to be powerful enough?" asked Shippou fearfully.

            "Do it," Inuyasha said quickly. Kagome knew that he would do anything to save his family, but she wondered if she was doing the right thing. She moved to place the Shikon shard in Inuyasha's hand, but even before she did it, the shards started pulsing.

            "Kagome, what does this mean?" asked Shippou as he looked at his own shard, which seemed to be pulsing like a heartbeat. Suddenly Inuyasha collapsed on the ground, holding his chest as if something was trying to wrench his heart out.

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome said worriedly, kneeling down next to him, trying to move the shards away from him. But all the shards kept pulsing in tune with each other, as if the shards were calling to one another, beckoning to the others to return and complete the jewel.

            Kagome noticed the shard in her hand grow bigger and bigger, but with each increase in size, Inuyasha seemed to be in more and more pain, and finally she couldn't stand it anymore.

            "Stop it! Stop it!" she screamed, trying to pound the shards in her hand apart. _If I break it, maybe it'll all stop. Maybe its acting this way because it wants to reunite, but if it means Inuyasha's life, I'll scatter these stupid shards to the ends of the earth myself if I have to._

            She realized that she loved him.

            She loved him as he was. She didn't require him to return to his past self. She didn't require anything of him. She just wanted him to live. She wanted to stay forever by his side, even if he could not love her in this life also.

            She wanted him to be.

            Suddenly a flash came from the Shikon shard and she felt the pulsing stop. She looked at the Shikon shard, her hand shaking in her nervousness. The shard was nearly complete. Only a few shards were missing, and Kagome knew that Shippou had one of the shards. Suddenly she felt the shards snatched out of her hands.

            "Thank you for this lovely gift," his low voice rang out, silencing the battle between the sea urchin youkai and Sango and Miroku.

            "Naraku," Sango said angrily, her voice bitter.

            "Naraku-sama, I—" the youkai started. Naraku killed him mercilessly, not once looking at the youkai. The youkai had not been strong enough to serve under him.

 "Musashino," he smiled, sending shivers down Kagome's spine. "In your weakened condition, how well do you think you will fare against my spell? Especially without the aid of your Shikon shards?"

            "You bastard. Are you looking to die?" Inuyasha said, forcing the words out. Kagome could tell that he was still feeling the remnants of his previous pain.

            "Let us see if you can still say those words after this spell," Naraku said with dark humor, making a strange symbol with his hand. Kagome saw Inuyasha go rigid, and she started to feel a terrible power come forth from him.

            "Inuyasha?" she asked in fear and dread.

            "Use this well," Naraku said, throwing a sword down to Inuyasha. He caught it easily with one hand, his eyes still shaded from Kagome's view.

            "Kagome, move away from him," Miroku said, sensing that the spell was probably working. A moment later, Inuyasha unsheathed the sword in one smooth motion and sliced at Kagome.

            "Kyaa!" Kagome screamed, tripping over a root, which probably saved her from being beheaded.

            "Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted, trying to get his friend to awaken from the spell. The only response he got was a vicious attack from the sword, which he was barely able to avoid.

            "Hiraikotsu!" Sango let the giant boomerang launch at Inuyasha, hoping to knock him out. He used the sword to knock the boomerang back.

            "Kagome, move to our side," Miroku said, running towards Inuyasha with his staff ready to subdue him. Inuyasha's blank, unfocused eyes narrowed dangerously at Miroku, and he raised his sword in front of him with one arm as if welcoming the former monk's attack.

            The staff and sword clashed against each other, and Miroku could feel the staff vibrating from the blow, though Inuyasha seemed to not have noticed anything wrong with his sword. Suddenly Inuyasha issued forth a series of attacks that tried to penetrate Miroku's defense, and Miroku was left breathless after the attack.

_            Damn it. If this continues, I won't last long enough to even see the sun rise again,_ he thought.

            "Inuyasha, please wake up!" Kagome shouted, hoping that her voice would reach him. But his mind was gone, unlike the previous times. This time, he was bent on killing them, and nothing would deter him from his mission.

            Inuyasha suddenly slashed at Miroku, causing the staff to be knocked out of his hands. He continued his attack without any regard to his enemy's weapon, forcing Miroku to unleash his air void to protect himself in a reflexive move.

            Miroku quickly closed the air void, but he needn't have bothered. Inuyasha had leapt far away from Miroku as soon as his hands had rested on the prayer beads, and was now trying to attack the person closest to him: Kagome.

            Kagome saw Inuyasha running towards her, but she couldn't move. She didn't know if it was fear that drove her to be unable to move, or if it was the sheer eeriness that she was experiencing as she saw the one she loved coming to kill her. Her thoughts ran faster than they had ever gone in those few moments as she wondered how Inuyasha had felt when Kikyo had gone to kill him; how he had felt when she had been under the influence of the evil miko and tried to shoot him.

            The blade was barely a hair's breadth away when a whip of light deflected the attack. Kagome turned and saw Sesshoumaru, who was looking with some emotion that may have resembled sadness on his face.

            "Sesshoumaru," Kagome said, but she knew that he knew what was happening.

            "Inuyasha!" Inuyasha's mother cried, dragging herself towards them, trying to reach her son. Kagome realized that both adults were still weak from before, and wondered if Inuyasha would awaken because of his family's presence.

            Inuyasha didn't even look confused as he started to attack Sesshoumaru, his blade ringing against Sesshoumaru's whip. Their battle seemed like some surreal ribbon dance, each evading the other's attack gracefully. 

Sesshoumaru brought the whip to wrap around Inuyasha's sword, hoping to end the battle there, but Inuyasha yanked viciously at the sword, and when he couldn't get it free, rushed at Sesshoumaru and punched him in the face, then swinging the blade around and cutting the arm that had regenerated after five hundred years.

Sesshoumaru pulled away and could feel the blood dripping down his arm, his wound closing a few seconds after the cut had been delivered. He didn't have time to rest long, for Inuyasha started attacking him again.

But even though Inuyasha was using his full power, Sesshoumaru still restrained himself. He would not kill Musashino by using his full potential, but nevertheless, in his weakened condition, he was finding it more and more difficult to subdue the spell that controlled Musashino.

Musashino swung the sword at Sesshoumaru's neck, forcing Sesshoumaru to attack in order to defend. He could hear and smell the blood as the whip cut into Musashino's right leg. Musashino just frowned, but ignored his wound and started attacking again.

As he fought Musashino, he slowly led the boy away from the others, hoping that he would attack only him, thus sparing the lives of others. But his real reason for leading him away was so that his mother wouldn't see her two sons cutting each other up. It was clear to him that the nature of the spell would never let go of its hold on Musashino unless Musashino was dead. He fervently hoped that he didn't have to resort to such a measure, but he was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing Musashino return to himself again.

_So, once again I am on a mission to kill my brother,_ Sesshoumaru thought with his trained calmness as Inuyasha succeeded in injuring him.

Sesshoumaru started using his whip to its full potential, hoping to cut Musashino enough to cause him to lose consciousness. Musashino responded by blocking some of the blows with his sword, but seeming to be unable to feel pain. Sesshoumaru could see numerous cuts all over Musashino, and it looked like he was suffering from blood loss, but still he stood, the spell holding him from stopping.

Musashino attacked again, his movements slightly slower this time. Sesshoumaru used his whip to once again wrap around the sword, yanking the sword from its path, but unable to force Musashino to let go of it. And with the sword still trapped by the whip, Musashino continued to attack.

Sesshoumaru yanked the sword so that the blade sank in slightly to his armor, not injuring him, while he used the other hand to drill through Musashino's body, just as he had done to Inuyasha all those years ago. He could feel the blood splatter down at his feet, as Musashino slowly closed his eyes, the power that had been powering him escaping. Sesshoumaru heard the clatter of the sword as Musashino let go of it, and he retrieved his whip into his hand, supporting Musashino from falling.

He picked him up like a child, the blood seeping into the sleeves of his kimono. He was so light. He felt exactly as he did all those years ago, and it left him to wonder if he had ever really changed. Sesshoumaru started up the path to where the others were, blocking all emotions from his face as he heard the constant dripping of Musashino's blood.

They would think him emotionless, but that didn't concern him. To seem emotionless was so much easier… He didn't know how to describe what he was feeling now. He didn't know how to describe this terrible wrenching of his heart as if someone was squeezing his very soul. He couldn't describe this numbness that he felt as he carried his brother, or perhaps not his brother at all, to the one that was his mother, and yet not his mother. No one would ever understand his pain, and they would never understand why he did it.

He walked to the clearing where the others had gathered, and he felt reluctant to present this limp body to them. He held his baby brother close to him and felt the skin becoming cooler with each passing second. He knew what he had done.

He let the night throw his figure into shadows, obscuring his face from the pale moonlit faces of the others. Guilt rode upon guilt, and he felt that he could never forgive himself.

**Author's Note: **Did you know that when I first started to write this I thought it was only going to be fifteen chapters long? Boy, was I wrong! And something else was supposed to happen in this chapter, but now I have to put it in the next chapter. Argh! What's wrong with me???

Thanks to all those people who wrote such nice comments about this story. As always, criticism is welcome! (And remember to tell me if the story starts becoming like pokemon.)


	38. Forgetting, A Blessing

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Forgetting, A Blessing**

            She felt her body trembling with fatigue as she sat there, helpless. She had sent her firstborn son after her youngest child…and for what reason? What did she expect to happen? Did she honestly think that a man with such power as Naraku would be so foolish as to place a spell that could be easily removed? Did she believe that both her sons would leave this battlefield unscathed?

            She felt the cold night air seep into her thin kimono and shivered. What kind of mother sent in her sons to destroy each other? She knew well what was going to happen. She had not lived so long and had so many lives of experience as not to realize that only one was going to walk out of this battle alive. So why had she done it?__

_            Perhaps…perhaps the Gods will favor me and bring both my children back,_ she hoped. She had to resist an attempt to snort at herself. Gods? Favor her? When had any deity ever helped her in anything? They always ripped her away from her family. First, away from Sesshoumaru, and second, away from Inuyasha. Did she believe that her luck would be different this time when every other time it had been exactly the same?

            She felt someone touch her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. Kagome… The girl that her son seemed to have taken to. A girl with mysterious powers… Kagome smiled briefly, trying to reassure the worn mother, but she could not smile back. She could already feel it in the air. One of her sons would be lost.

            "Hayashi-san, please… It'll be okay," the girl tried to comfort her. This time, she smiled weakly back. But she knew it was all lies. She could feel her heart already hardening, preparing itself for the news that was to come.

            They saw a lone figure walk across the small ridge towards them, his silver hair glowing in the darkness of the night. His face was hidden by shadows, but the shadows failed to hide the bundle that he carried in his arms.

            She felt her heart stop and the girl next to her stiffen. She could smell it… That smell that she detested with all her heart… The smell of blood.

            "Sess-chan…" She didn't need to ask. She knew what had happened.

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, running to him. Surprisingly, the girl didn't cry. "Inuyasha… Wake up… Inuyasha."

            She could see the girl's eyes start to brim with tears, but she refused to let them fall. Sesshoumaru gently set his brother down on the ground. She saw that his kimono was stained scarlet with the blood of her youngest child. She could feel undeniable fury. Fury at Sesshoumaru, fury at Naraku, fury at herself for being such a fool.

            She brought herself next to her two sons with much effort. She couldn't bear to look at her son's pale face. She couldn't bring herself to look at Sesshoumaru. She was afraid of the accusation that he would see in her eyes when she looked at him. She knew it wasn't his fault. It was never his fault.

            Her youngest child was dying again. Both times she had failed to save him. She had failed him. She had failed in ways that no other mother ever did.

            "Sess-chan… Are you alright?" she asked with difficulty. Still, she could not look at him. She could hear the rustle of his hair as he nodded slowly. He had given his brother his death sentence. At least it was something. She had just stood by and done nothing.

            "We have to call an ambulance or something," the youkai exterminator said in panicked tones.

            "It's… It's too late," Miroku said.__

_            No! It's never too late! Use your brain,_ she told herself. _There has to be a way to save him. I would not be his mother if I didn't at least try to save him. So think! How? How?!_

            She could feel moisture under her hands as the essence of life seeped away from its owner, falling through the mortal earth into the land devoid of the living.__

_            Youkai… I have no power now to heal him,_ she thought frantically. _I cannot ask this of Sess-chan. I cannot ask him to give his life up for his brother… _

            Youkai. Her powers would not help her now. But perhaps…the girl's powers…?

            "Kagome-chan," she said desperately. The girl had miko powers… Powers that she had once had… So perhaps…?

            "Hayashi-san?" Kagome asked, wondering what she was trying to say.

            "Please… With your powers… Heal him," she pleaded.

            "Heal him?" the girl questioned, confused. Of course she would not know how. She was never taught how, and now was no time to teach her.

            "I can't heal people," she said, holding on tighter to Inuyasha's unmoving hand. Time was running out. What could she do? What could she do to save her son?

            "Kagome-sama only knows how to purify things," Miroku said, accidentally slipping into his ancient tongue.__

            Purify… It wouldn't help with anything… Or could it?

            "Can you purify him so that at least his human side lives?" she asked. She knew she was out of her mind. What she had said didn't even make any sense. Her son was full youkai. There was no human side to him.

            "Hayashi-san…" the girl said, helpless.

            "He isn't human," Miroku reminded her. "However… Kagome," he said suddenly, turning to the girl whose powers were mostly dormant. "Remember the seal that he might have placed upon himself? The power of the Shikon shards is gone. Maybe you can purify the seal of youki. Maybe you can unleash his youkai powers."

            She had no idea what her son's best friend was talking about, but she still looked at the girl, hoping that the girl could do something…anything…

            Kagome placed one hand on Inuyasha's forehead. It was the only place that didn't have blood on it. She closed her eyes and hoped for a miracle. She didn't care if she had to bring him back from the dead. She couldn't bear it if she lost him for a second time.

            Suddenly, she felt it: a core of darkness in the very depths of Inuyasha's soul. She reached out with her powers and could feel the youki start to purify, and the seal becoming weaker. Suddenly the seal of youki crumbled and in the realm of reality, she felt a wave of youki burst out from Inuyasha. She opened her eyes, and stared in wonder as she could feel the flow of youki surround Inuyasha, just like what seemed years ago.

            And she remembered that she had felt something similar to this ten years ago…

            _How old was I then? Five? Four years old?_

_            I remember meeting…him. He looked and felt strange to me. And peculiarly…he felt familiar. His actions were unfamiliar, but his presence… It was as if I had met him in a past life._

_            And in reality, I did, didn't I?_

_            But what had happened? He had seen me. And I felt something from him. A wave of recognition? And after that, he got sick. When he returned, the feeling was gone. And I forgot… I forgot all about it…_

            She watched in slight wonder as his raven dark hair transformed into a bright silver sheen, and she knew why it had all happened. Her presence had triggered his memories. He remembered everything that had happened in his past life. But he hadn't been ready. As a five year old, he couldn't take it. And perhaps, Inuyasha couldn't take it either…

            The numerous cuts on him started to heal with surprising speed, and a few moments later, he opened his golden eyes to meet the world around him.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked tentatively. He looked… They looked so alike.

            He got up with a grunt, and observed his forgotten features. Mrs. Hayashi was still on the ground, half in shock and half in relief.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, slightly afraid of the emotions that were fleeting across his face at that moment. He smiled at her, but she couldn't decipher whether or not that was the true emotion he was feeling.

            "I… I guess I'm the last one to know…again," he said as if it was all a joke. Kagome smiled weakly. He had always been the last to be informed in this life… But he was also the first to remember.

            "I'm going to get myself cleaned up, 'kay?" he said.

            "Go. I'll help Haha-ue home," Sesshoumaru said. Inuyasha turned to look at him, and again, Kagome was unable to comprehend his expression.

            "Fine," he said with strained calmness, then walked off by himself. And Kagome knew that he had remembered.

            "Hayashi, please pay attention," the teacher said sternly for the hundredth time that day. He mentally cursed himself for coming here, but he had had to, out of habit. He couldn't stand the confining walls of the room and was surprised that he had spent most of his life cooped up in these classrooms. And the shoes! He hated them! He felt like he was being tied up, but another part of him felt that all these conditions were quite normal. And he knew that everything around him **was** normal… It was **he** who wasn't normal.

            He listened as the teacher ranted on about Newton's Law of Whatever, and had to fight off the urge to beat Miroku's face in. Ever since he had entered the school grounds, Miroku had been looking at him funny. One part of him was annoyed with Miroku, but another part of him chided himself for his short temper.

            He immediately tried to calm himself. He wasn't going to let these foreign emotions get a hold of him. He was Musashino, not Inuyasha, and if the other Inuyasha had such foul a temper, then he would just forget everything that he had remembered. Everything…including Kagome.

            Kagome… When she had unleashed his youkai powers, she had also unleashed Inuyasha's memories. He remembered—no, he learned of Inuyasha's past when she had purified that barrier of youki within him, and he didn't like it one bit.

            He couldn't believe that he had gone without his parents at such a young age. He couldn't believe that he had practically raised himself by himself. He couldn't believe the sense of loneliness that he—no, Inuyasha had felt.

            And he couldn't believe Sesshoumaru.

            Sesshoumaru… The "brother" that he had always looked up to… He felt an irrational hatred towards him. He felt like killing him, ripping him to shreds, and yet… There was a part of him that didn't want that either. He wanted Sesshoumaru to pay for abandoning him when he had no one, to pay for hunting him down only for the sake of their father's grave, to pay for continuously attacking him and nearly killing him.

            But… He didn't want that. Inuyasha wanted that, but not he… Not he…

            The ringing of the bell hours later signified the end of the school day. He walked slowly out, trying to suppress his urge to just run away from it all. He hoped that no one was going to follow him, but Sango, Miroku…and Kagome caught up to him, walking alongside him.

            He was glad of their company…but he also resented them. They had done this to him. They had tried all this time to get him to remember something that he now regretted remembering. But he had played along with them, hadn't he? It was as much his fault as anyone else's.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice called to him softly.

            "What?" he said rather gruffly.

            "Do you want to go with us to the ice cream parlor?" she asked.

            "No."

            "Well, you're coming anyway," she said, grabbing him running to the store. She sat him down forcefully in a chair, and threatened him with her eyes if he tried to leave. He had to admit, both sides of him were afraid of this girl…and both also loved her.

            He frowned. Did he love her? When had that idea popped into his mind? He didn't love her before… He had only liked her… Right?

            "Miroku, Sango, you two go order the ice cream," Kagome said, never once taking her eyes off Inuyasha. "I don't care what it is, just order it." Miroku and Sango took that as their cue to leave, and quickly left the two alone.

            "Inuyasha, I know that it must be hard to remember everything all of a sudden, but… Please don't be this way," she said, "You're getting all of us worried."

            "What way?" he asked, smiling, and he was reminded of that perverted monk in the past.

            "You're acting all silent and brooding!" she said. "It's not like you!"

            Was it really not like him? How many hours had he spent, worrying, hating, pleading, dreaming of a life that would be better to him than the one he had had? And he finally had it, only for it to be taken away in a night, by the brother he had once cared for, but now hated? How was it not like him? How was it not like him to worry about every member in their group against Naraku? How was it not like him to fall silent and into darkness? How many times did she ever notice his actions?

            Small actions, concerns, movements that he had kept at a minimum so that no one else would realize what he was thinking or feeling. How many times had he acted like fool just to mislead them? He knew that he was naturally ill tempered, but how many times did he have to force his roughness onto himself so that no one else could feel the hurt that he did?

            She didn't know anything. She didn't know anything at all.

            "Inuyasha, please… Just return to being the person that I knew," she said.

            "Which person are you referring to?" he asked a bit harshly. She fell silent, not knowing how to respond. He could see that tears were starting to form in her eyes, but her stubborn side wouldn't allow her to cry in front of him. He felt his heart tearing at her sadness, but stopped himself from comforting her.

            Did he only feel this urge to stop her sadness because his past self had loved her? What if… What if all this time that he had thought he had liked her was just an effect of his past life? Did that mean that he didn't love her? Did that mean that everything he had said or done were not actions that he had done willingly?

            Had he lived his whole life shadowed by his past self?

            "We've got the… Uh-oh," Sango said as she saw the tension between the two.

            "I'm leaving," he said, getting up and starting to leave.

            "Oh, no you don't!" Kagome shouted angrily. "Osuwari!" She covered her mouth, regretting her words, but it was already too late.

            " 'Osuwari?'" he smiled bitterly. So that was what she thought of him. A substitute for the one that she had loved in the past. _Figures…_

            "Inuyasha…"

            "Now I truly know why you wanted to call me 'Inuyasha' the first time that we met," he laughed resentfully. "Just for him, isn't it? I am nothing to you, but when it comes to him, it is different, isn't it? This is what it's always been about, hasn't it?"

            "No, it hasn't!" she said defiantly, surprising him, but he recovered quickly.

            "Don't bother lying to me!" he shouted. "I didn't forget all those times that you spoke of loving him, or trying to get me to remember. And why? Just so you can satisfy your own wants!"

            "That's not true!" she shouted back.

            "What's not true?" he asked, fury rising in him. "You told me yourself that you didn't know what you felt!"

            "Yes, but I know now!" she said, starting to cry. "I know now that I… I…"

            "You don't know anything at all!" he said in anger. "You don't understand anything!"

            "You…!" she said, getting angry, and starting to cry harder at the same time. "You… IDIOT!!!" He had to cover his ears at her sudden shout.

            "**You** don't know anything," she shouted. "**You** don't understand anything. You don't understand how I felt…all those times… How guilty I felt… How torn…"

            "And can you understand even an ounce of what I'm feeling now?" he asked acrimoniously. "Can you understand how I feel like I'm not even myself anymore? How my entire life feels like it is being replaced with this…this person who I don't even know?"

            "Inuyasha!" Sango said warningly as Kagome collapsed on the chair, crying. All of a sudden, he couldn't stand them anymore. He couldn't stand any of them.

            He walked out of the door without so much as a backward glance. The people in the ice cream parlor had fallen silent during the fight, and were now starting to speak to each other in whispers. Sango tried to comfort Kagome, who was clenching her fists in anger, her entire frame shaking with silent sobs. 

Miroku looked out at the retreating back of his friend and wondered if they had truly done the right thing. Perhaps he should have followed his own advice in the beginning and let Inuyasha live a short life, instead of a life riddled with pain…

He sat in the garden, trying to will his youki to return faster, but to no avail. He had come to visit his mother, only to find that she was still sleeping off last night's exhaustion. So he had gone to the garden and tried to find peace, but peace did not come.

He couldn't forget how his mother was last night. Although she had tried to hide it, he had still felt it. She had blamed him for Inuyasha. He had always suspected that he was the favorite of the two, but it had nonetheless hurt when he had had it confirmed. In his mother's eyes, she only had one son. After all, who would want a son who was incapable of expressing his feelings, even if he did love his family with all his heart?

She had asked if he was all right, but he knew that it was just a façade to hide her true feelings. But he didn't blame her. He knew that she had spent more time with Musashino than she ever did with him. Naturally she would love Musashino more than she would love him.

Then why did he still feel this sense of bitterness? Of jealousy?

He was tempted to laugh at his own foolishness. He, Sesshoumaru, jealous? If anyone had ever dared to suggest it, they would have been dead in less than a second. But he wasn't anyone. He was Sesshoumaru, and he was jealous. Jealous of such a small thing… Jealous of his little brother…

He was ashamed to be so childish, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling these emotions. He was supposed to be an adult. He was well over half a millennium now, and still he felt as if though he had never changed since his mother's death.

He was still the cold, merciless person he had been after she had died. He supposed that in some ways, he never really grew up. He had never really been given the chance to grow up. His father had been consumed with grief and had left him to fend for himself.

He supposed that he and Inuyasha had more similarities than they would both like to admit. They had both raised themselves. They had both encountered the harsh reality before their time. They had both never been given the chance to live an innocent life.

But what about Musashino? Musashino had everything that **he** had never gotten. **He** had a loving family. **He **was raised in his mother's embrace. **He** was sheltered from the full blow of the world's cruelties.

He **was** sheltered…until now.

He heard the sound of someone opening the door and kicking off his shoes. He could sense Musashino, or perhaps Inuyasha, moving towards him.

"Sesshoumaru," he said, trying to rein in his anger. So he was right. Inuyasha had returned.

"Inuyasha," he said with contempt. He didn't know why he acted that way. It was as if he was compelled to put up his shield whenever he saw his brother. It was as if he was afraid to admit that he had felt what his brother had felt in his short life.

"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked, the illusion spell fading away to show his familiar silver hair.

"I was visiting Hayashi-san," he replied, unsure of why he had decided to address his "mother" so formally all of a sudden.

"Is that the only reason?" Inuyasha all but growled at him. He could see the hatred and anger that was in his brother's eyes whenever he saw him. But suddenly, it was all suppressed, leaving Sesshoumaru slightly confused.

"Do you want me to get you some tea, or something?" he said with a little difficultly. "Ojii-chan said that you should drink those herbs to recover more quickly."

Sesshoumaru only gave him a confused look, as Inuyasha, or maybe Musashino now, smiled at him. There was no malice in his expression. It was as if Inuyasha's anger had been sealed off again, but he knew better than to believe that.

"Musashino, you don't have to pretend that you do not hate me," he said with practiced calmness, looking out at the sakura tree.

"I don't hate you!" he said loudly. "I never hated you. I'll never hate you!"

Sesshoumaru looked at him with an expressionless face. Musashino was lost. And he felt lost with him.

"You do not have to get me anything," he said as he got up. "I am leaving now, anyway."

"All right…" Musashino replied, looking slightly upset with his departure.

As he left the house, he turned back once, and saw Inuyasha standing there once again, the old enmity written clearly on his face. He felt something shatter in him, and walked away, feeling his ice-cold persona slipping onto him, cutting him off from the emotions that he had built in the short years that he had spent with Musashino.

And somewhere, in his ominous manor, someone laughed as he saw the events that were unfolding. 

His reign had already begun.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for all the reviews and criticism. They've been really helpful, and without them, I think this story would have ended up in my "unfinished" list.

A little question… In the next chapter, should I add a little humor to lighten things up a bit, or should I continue on this dark path?


	39. Closing the Distance

**Complete the Circle**

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for not updating for like a month, but I had so many things to do for school that I just really didn't have the time. Actually, I still have a lot of things to do… I have a huge project for practically every class, but nobody wants to hear me complain. I wasn't going to update until my winter break started, but you're going to have to thank Tigerskyz (Chiyoko, I think) for instant messenging (is there such a word?) me. Otherwise, you probably would have had to wait two more weeks or so. If you thought I abandoned or forgot this story, you're wrong. I just couldn't think of anything to write, and hopefully, this chapter will be worthy enough of your time.

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Closing the Distance**

            "The old man knows too much."

            "So? What do you want **me** to do about it?" she asked, running her slender hand through her dark hair.

            "Eliminate him."

            "I thought you said you weren't going to kill anyone," she said idly, settling into a comfortable position on her chair.

            "I said I would not kill anyone in the Hayashi district. That does not mean I cannot kill in other districts."

            "The Youkai Council is not going to be pleased," she said, for the first time looking as if though she was actually listening to him.

            "They have no power when it concerns humans. Besides, they'll soon be obsolete."

            "Are you thinking about killing them, too?" she asked, returning to her lazy posture.

            "After my plan is complete, I won't need to kill them."

            "Ooh. I'm so scared," she said sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at her.

            "Just eliminate the old man. The rest of the players shall fall into their station after the old man is dead."

            "Whatever you say, Captain," she said, exiting the room before he could think of a punishment for her. He looked at the near complete Shikon no Tama on the table, glowing with an iridescent light. There was still one piece missing, and that last piece would soon fall into his hands.

            Shippou sat with Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Souta at Sango's house. The tension that surrounded Kagome and Inuyasha for the past few days had been a bit too much to bear, and so they had decided to meet at Sango's house to discuss about possible solutions to the problem at hand.

            "Anyone have a great idea yet?" asked Shippou, still racking his brain for a way to bring the group together again.

            "Maybe we should write Kagome a letter and say that it was from Inuyasha, and write a letter to Inuyasha saying that it's from Kagome, and then tell them to meet at some place under a full moon," Sango said. "It'll be so romantic."

            "Unfortunately, that often doesn't work well in reality," Miroku said with a contemplating look on his face. "There is always some sort of misunderstanding that sets them apart again."

            "Oh yeah?" asked Sango irritated. "Why don't you suggest something then?"

            "How about inviting them to dinner or something and force them to talk to each other," Miroku said. "By talking, they should be able to resolve their problems."

            "Yeah, right," Sango said, unconvinced. "It was talking that led to the problem in the first place. I don't think those two will have anything nice to say about one another until they have both cooled off."

            "Why don't you just go talk to them individually?" asked Kohaku.

            "And let Inuyasha bite my head off? No thanks," said Miroku, getting up and starting to pace.

            "If only we could get the two to apologize to each other…" Sango said thoughtfully, knowing that all it took for Kagome to forgive Inuyasha was an apology.

            "Hey! I have an idea!" Shippou said excitedly, and a few moments later, the rest of the group agreed with his plan. With a brief discussion, the group left to fulfill their roles, hoping that their intervention would get Kagome and Inuyasha together.

            He leaned against the wall of his room, wondering what was wrong with him. Actually, he already knew, but he just didn't know what to do about it. He was still doing his daily duties as was expected of him, but the thoughts and feelings that ran inside of him were different now. The attitudes he had towards people had changed.

            He sighed, walking through the hall of his silent house. His parents were still resting because of him. His "friends" were probably trying to get ready for the upcoming battle. And what was he doing? All he did was complicate things. _Oh yeah, and yell at Kagome._

            He felt like he should apologize, which was usually not a difficult feat for him, but this time, he felt as if he couldn't apologize. It was that old hanyou side of him. That Inuyasha did not have it written in his personality to ask for forgiveness. But even so, both past and present souls agreed that an apology to Kagome was needed, even if the past part did not know how to come about that request for forgiveness.

            He sat down next to the garden where Sesshoumaru had been sitting several days ago. He felt tired. Physically, he never felt better, but mentally, he felt as if he was torn between two people. Whatever decision he made always came in conflict with some part of himself, and whatever remark he made was usually criticized by his other self. He was getting tired of struggling with himself. He just wished that the two lives could merge with each other and form one unified being, but he knew that he didn't want that to happen, either. He didn't want to have Inuyasha's personality fused into him.

            He heard the doorbell ring and reluctantly got up to open the door. It was Miroku. Part of him wanted to shout and tell him to go away, while another part of him wanted to smile and invite him in. In the end, he didn't do either.

            "Good morning, Inuyasha," Miroku said, inviting himself in. "Mind if I come in? Good," he said without waiting for an answer from Inuyasha.

            "What are you doing here?" he asked in as neutral a voice as he could manage.

            "Oh, nothing in particular," Miroku said, taking his shoes off and heading for the refrigerator.

            "If there's nothing you need, then get out," Inuyasha scowled, getting annoyed with Miroku. He quickly suppressed his annoyance. He had forgotten that he had such a short temper.

            "Oh there are things I need," Miroku said mysteriously.

            "What?" asked Inuyasha grumpily.

            "I need… Sango!" Miroku said suddenly.

            "What the hell?" Inuyasha asked in surprise.

            "You don't know how much I love her," Miroku said, putting a hand over his heart as if his heart hurt with the pain of love. "I don't think I can live a day without her."

            "Don't lie, you sick pervert," Inuyasha said, starting to walk away from him. "You've always said that you love all pretty women. Why should Sango be any different from your usual pick?"

            "Oh, you cold hearted idiot," Miroku said despairingly. "You do not understand the ways of love."

            "Whatever."

            "You have to help me!" Miroku said, pouncing on Inuyasha and starting to shake him. "I must get Sango to fall in love with me!"

            "Sango is already in love with you," Inuyasha said, starting to get dizzy.

            "Oh really?" Miroku asked, dropping Inuyasha on the floor.

            "Yes," he said, getting up and dusting himself off.

            "Oh no!" Miroku said suddenly. "I don't know how to express my love!"

            "You seemed to express it pretty well when you kissed her while we were camping," Inuyasha said dryly.

            "No! I must show another form of love. What shall I do?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha thought Miroku was acting a bit strange. He knew he wasn't Naraku because he just didn't smell like Naraku, but nonetheless, he had never seen Miroku this way.

            "Come! Like the wind, we shall fly, to the sky until we…" Miroku thought for a moment.

            "Die?" asked Inuyasha.

            "No!" Miroku said indignantly. "Until we… Oh! How about this? 'Until we fly?'"

            "You just said 'fly,'" Inuyasha said.

            "Oh, who cares?" asked Miroku impatiently. "You're coming with me, and we're going to search for the perfect expression of love to give to Sango!"

            "Why don't you go by yourself?" asked Inuyasha, but Miroku had already dragged him out of the door.

            Kagome sat on the steps to the well house, thinking. Inuyasha was mad at her, and she supposed that she understood why. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't want Kikyo's mind in her, but she wondered what it was about Inuyasha that Musashino would not want in him. Inuyasha may be loud, mean, and rude, but sometimes he could also be gentle, kind, and compassionate. With all the negatives weighed against the positive, Inuyasha would still turn out to be good. So what was it that Musashino saw that she didn't?

            She wondered if Musashino was only imagining Inuyasha's flaws. Or was Inuyasha's mind affecting Musashino's decision? She knew that although Inuyasha tried to portray himself as a confident person, he never really was. Was his own insecurity coloring Musashino's mind, and making him see only the bad side of him?

            Kagome sighed, wondering what she should do. Suddenly she heard the steps of someone approaching her and looked up.

            "Inuyasha?" she asked in surprise, never expecting him to show up at a time like this.

            "Um, yeah…" he said, looking nervous.

            "Err… Can I help you with something?" Kagome asked, knowing that it sounded rather cold, and slapping herself mentally for having said it.

            "I…um. That is, I…" He started looking down at the pavement. Kagome waited patiently for him to continue.

            "I… I want to apologize."

_            Apologize? _Had the world been turned upside down?_ Then again, this may be Musashino apologizing, not Inuyasha, _she thought, but quickly tried to erase it. It didn't really matter who apologized. The two people whom she loved were now one and the same.

            "For what?" Kagome asked sweetly.

            "For yelling at you the other day."

            "Oh, I forgot about that already," Kagome lied.

            "Oh. Okay, that's great," he said. "You want to…walk with me?"

            "Sure," Kagome said, starting to feel that Inuyasha was acting strangely. She felt the youki around him, and it didn't feel like Naraku's. She wondered if she was just imagining things.

            "So, how is your day?" he asked as they walked towards the park.

            "Just fine," Kagome said, trying to join him in idle chatter.

            "Good. That's good," he said. Kagome tried to keep herself from frowning. He was just acting too strange for her.

            They walked in silence until they reached the park, where they walked some more in silence. Usually, when she walked with Inuyasha like this in the past, she had felt at peace, but today, she felt discordant from the rest of the world.

            They had reached the heart of the park, and she was starting to get bored. Suddenly, a rabbit youkai appeared.

            "How dare you trespass on my territory!" she shouted in a shrill voice. "Now, I will have to destroy you!"

            "We're sorry," Kagome quickly apologized, starting to back away. "We didn't mean to."

            "Fools! I will not tolerate excuses!" The rabbit youkai started to attack by throwing dirt at them, which Inuyasha blocked with a large shield.

            "Where did you get that?" asked Kagome.

            "Err… It was just lying around there…"

            Kagome looked at Inuyasha dubiously, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, something dropped down from the sky and the entire field was filled with fog.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, unable to see anything. She felt someone push her down, and she fell into a ditch that she hadn't noticed before.

            "Stay in there. I'll take care of this."

            "Inuyasha?" she asked, but he was already gone. "Don't leave me in here! Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Don't go!" No one answered. She heard the sound of flesh being cut and someone gasping in pain, but she couldn't see anything.

            She wondered what had happened. Had Inuyasha…died?

            "Inuyasha?" she called out, fear mounting her heart. "Inuyasha? Answer me!" But still, no one answered. She started to feel herself shake with tears and fear.

            "You can't just go like this Inuyasha. You can't," she said crying. "You can't go. Don't go!" she shouted, hoping that would bring him back.

            "Who the hell keeps on yelling out my name?" a familiar voice said grumpily. Suddenly the fog cleared and Kagome wasn't in a ditch, she was just sitting in a field of grass.

            "That was weird," Inuyasha commented on the abrupt change of weather.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, wondering what was going on.

            "What are you doing on the ground? Are you crying?" he asked bluntly.

            "No!" Kagome said, standing up and wiping her tears away. She had an idea of who played this trick on her. "It's just my sinuses. I must be allergic to these flowers."

            "You were never allergic to them before," he said.

            "Well, I am now!" she said, irritated that she had been tricked. She wondered if the person standing before her was real. While he was looking somewhere else, she pinched his arm.

            "Ow! What's wrong with **you**?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

            "Heh heh. Just had to check if you're real," she laughed nervously.

            "Yeah, well, Miroku told me to give this to you," Inuyasha said, not exactly friendly, but not hostile either. "He said that the only way to win Sango's heart was to get her best friend to convince her that a certain someone is good enough for her."

            "That's stupid. Sango already likes Miroku," Kagome said, confused, but taking the package.

            "I guess he's trying to bribe you to put in a few good words for him," he said, shrugging.

            Kagome opened the package, wondering what was inside. It was a small glass ball with some strange pink gas inside it.

            "What is it?" asked Kagome.

            "No clue," Inuyasha said, looking at it closely. They both leaned in for a closer look, and their foreheads collided.

            "Ow!" Kagome said, putting her hand to her forehead and accidentally dropping the glass ball. Inuyasha tried to catch it, but the ball seemed to jump away from his grasp, shattering on the ground.

            "Is it just me, or is it weird that a glass ball can shatter in a field full of fluffy grass?" Inuyasha wondered out loud. Kagome agreed. She bent down to pick up the broken pieces of glass so that no one would be hurt by it later, but the pieces of glass suddenly disappeared. The strange gas that was in the glass before suddenly expanded and enveloped them both, causing them both to sneeze at the same time, then disappeared.

            "Okay… What was that about?" Inuyasha asked.

            "I bet it's a spell," Kagome said. "Miroku better not have gotten it from Jii-chan."

            The both stood there and waited for the effects of the spell to take hold. Nothing happened.

            "Guess it's not a spell after all," Inuyasha said, trying to be slightly friendly with her.

            "I guess it isn't," Kagome said, wondering what exactly her friends were planning. And was the Inuyasha that had led her to the park Shippou? If that was true, then there must have been a reason as to why Miroku sent her that package. But why? What was that package for?

            "Are you heading home?" asked Inuyasha. She nodded, still wondering what her friends were planning. "I'll walk you."

            She looked at him, wondering if he was still angry. He had a stony expression on, and she figured that he was probably still unhappy with her, so she said nothing as she walked by his side.

            "Kagome," Inuyasha said, not looking at her.

            "Yes?" she asked, slightly happy, and slightly afraid of his reason for breaking their silence.

            "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you like that."

            "Oh, it's no problem at all," she said, trying to sound as if she didn't care. At least she knew now for sure that the Inuyasha from earlier really was a fake. And he wasn't mad at her anymore, which raised her spirits slightly.

            "You may think it's nothing, but I…" he couldn't find the right words, but still he continued. "I'm just sorry. And I want you to know that…that Inuyasha may have loved you..." He paused.

            "Yes?" Kagome asked, wondering what he was trying to say.

            "…He may have loved you, but I… I can't," he said finally. Kagome felt her insides freeze and it was as if time itself had frozen in its place.

            "What?" she asked, not quite sure that she had heard correctly.

            "I can't love you," he said, trying to force the words out. "I… I just can't. If I did, I would never know if…if… Never mind. It doesn't matter."

            But it mattered to her. She wanted to know why, why did he have to say that after all that they had been through? But her throat was stuck. She didn't know what to say and how to say it. What was she supposed to do, demand that he love her?

            They walked the rest of the way in silence, and all the way back, she felt numb. She was suddenly so tired, as if nothing in the world could ever bring her back up again. It was like she was falling into a pit that she would never get out of.

            "Inuyasha! Kagome-chan!" Sango shouted loudly. "Miroku, Shippou, they're back!"

            She saw her three friends stand at the top of the steps of the shrine and wondered if they knew.

            "So Inuyasha, when's your date with Kagome?" Shippou asked.

            "What?" asked Inuyasha.

            "You did ask her out, didn't you?" asked Shippou.

            "You need to move faster, Inuyasha," Miroku said, giving him some advice.

            "What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked.

            "Miroku," Sango said, looking at Kagome and tugging at Miroku's sleeve. "I have this feeling that your spell didn't work."

            "What do you mean?" he asked, but said nothing more when he saw Kagome's expression.

            "What spell are you talking about?" Inuyasha demanded.

            "Nothing," Miroku said quickly, backing away from Inuyasha.

            "It was a love spell, wasn't it?" asked Kagome without emotion. The trio looked at her nervously. "Well, it didn't work. I'm glad it didn't work," she said, surprising them.

            "Kagome-chan…" Sango started.

            "I wouldn't want to be in love because of a spell, or for any other reason except my **own** heart. Isn't that right, Musashino?" she asked, looking at him. He avoided looking at her.

            "Inuyasha, what did you do?" Shippou wailed.

            "It's not his fault," said Kagome. "It's partly mine."

            "How can it be your fault?" asked Miroku. "Inuyasha, what's wrong with you?! We worked so hard to get that spell and give it to you, and you blow it off like this?"

            "Don't even start with me, Miroku," he said in a cold voice.

            "I'm going to my room," Kagome said, starting to walk away.

            "I'll see you guys later," Inuyasha said, turning towards his own house.

            "Look what your stupid spell has done, Miroku!" Sango shouted angrily.

            "It's not my fault!" he shouted back.

            Kagome knew it would take more than a spell to affect Inuyasha's decision. He hadn't decided because of a spell. If the spell had caused Inuyasha to dislike her, then wouldn't she dislike him too? But she didn't, though she wished she did. It would make everything so much easier to accept, so much easier to live with.

            Suddenly she started to feel dizzy. Then she felt as if though she couldn't breathe, and her heart felt as if though it would burst out from her chest. She collapsed on the ground, barely hearing her friends' concerned exclamations.__

_            "I don't know if I…"_

_            What?_ Her pain riddled brain tried to figure out the meaning of those vague words.__

_            "What if I don't really love her?"_ a familiar voice said. Kagome wondered what was happening. It was as if the voice came from inside her own mind, but she knew it wasn't her thoughts. It was someone else's thoughts, and she was both curious and afraid of whose it was.__

_            "I don't want… I don't want to be with someone if I don't really love them…"_

            "Kagome, are you alright?" Miroku seemed to have asked her a question, but she didn't pay any attention to him.__

_            "It wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be fair to her or me. I can't let the feelings from my past cloud my judgment. I can't say I love her just because **he **does. I won't let my life be consumed by the past. I won't live a lie!"_

            He was walking down the stairs when he suddenly felt the world spin around him and he had to sit down. But as soon as he sat down, he started to have difficulty breathing, and then it was like he was having a heart attack. He tried to force himself to breathe, hoping that it would stop whatever was happening, but it didn't. Then he felt as if though another presence had entered his mind.__

_            "I…love him?"_

_            Who the hell is this?_ he thought.__

_            "Inuyasha… Do I like him simply because he was Inuyasha?"_

_            Is this…Kagome?_

_            "Or do I like him for just being himself?"_

_            What is this, Kagome's thoughts?_ He decided he didn't really want to know, but her voice didn't stop speaking.__

_            "Am I only thinking that I'm in love with him because of his cover? Because of his face? Or is it because it's just him? Is it even possible to love more than one person?"_

            Was it possible to love more than one?__

_            "I feel as if though I'm betraying Inuyasha…"_

            That part of him that was Inuyasha felt as if though she **was** betraying him for…himself?__

_            "But I… I really think that I do love him. All those times that he's joked around, his comments, his actions… I just can't help it…"_

            Inuyasha was starting to get really mad, while Musashino was starting to be slightly happy, which didn't help with anything at all since he was starting to have a headache.__

_            "I know I love him, but… But that doesn't mean I don't still love Inuyasha. I… I love them both? That sounds like something Miroku would say. Or maybe even Inuyasha?_

_            "I think I finally understand what Inuyasha felt. Kikyo… Me… How did he ever choose? Did he even choose?_

_            "I wonder who he chose in the end… But it doesn't really matter. I understand now… He loved us both, and I suppose, that I too love both of him…"_

_            But do both of us love her?_

            Inuyasha leaned back against the steps, trying to rid himself of his headache, and as he leaned back, he felt slightly better. He got up with much difficulty and took a step towards the shrine, and in that one step, all his previous pains disappeared. He felt perfectly fine all of a sudden. Kagome's voice also disappeared, for which he was not certain if he was relieved or disappointed.

            He walked back to the shrine, having an inkling that the spell Miroku had cast really did work. It just didn't work the way Miroku had expected.

            Kagome started to understand why Musashino didn't want to love her. He was afraid that he wouldn't be true to himself, and she knew that loving her without question would never give him the peace that he so desperately sought, both in the Sengoku Jidai and in the present time.

            Suddenly she felt the dizziness, the lack of air, and the pains in her heart stop. She pushed herself to her feet, ignoring her friends' aid. And she saw Inuyasha appear above the steps, looking slightly ill. No doubt he had just suffered the same fate as she.

            "Miroku's spell works," Inuyasha said, frowning slightly.

            "Yeah," Kagome said, knowing that Inuyasha had probably also seen her thoughts on him by the expression on his face.

            "Huh? Really?" asked Miroku, wondering what was going on.

            "You two are in love with each other now?" asked Shippou.

            "No," Inuyasha answered before Kagome could say anything. "We've just come to a new understanding."

            "Are you two okay?" asked Sango in a soft voice.

            "Oh we're okay," Inuyasha said, "but no thanks to Miroku."

            "What did I do now?" asked Miroku innocently.

            "This spell of yours… What exactly is it supposed to do?" asked Inuyasha menacingly.

            "Make you fall head over heels for each other?" asked Miroku nervously.

            "I don't think it's working the way you think it's supposed to work," Inuyasha said. "Kagome, please stand there and don't move."

            Kagome stood there, wondering what Inuyasha was going to do. He started to walk away, but this time he was walking slowly and was going towards her house. As soon as he reached a certain distance however, she started to feel the same dizziness settle on her, but as he took a step back, the dizziness disappeared.

            "What?" asked Miroku, not quite understanding what the demonstration was about.

            "It's a distance spell," Sango said, realizing what Inuyasha was trying to show.

            "That's right," Inuyasha said. "If we go too far away from each other, I don't think we'll be able to live."

            "Isn't that a good thing? Now you two can be together forever," Miroku said in false naivety.

            "How 'bout I beat you up?" Inuyasha said threateningly, but Miroku quickly ran away.

            "Ha ha. If you try to come after me, then you'll start dying or whatever," Miroku said. Inuyasha could only clench his fist in anger.

            "Whose idea was it to use this stupid spell anyway?" asked Kagome. "Is it you, Miroku?"

            "Why do you even bother to ask?" asked Inuyasha.

            "Hey, Shippou had some part in it, too," Miroku said.

            "Since when?" demanded Shippou indignantly.

            "He was the one who transformed into Inuyasha and led you to the park."

            "What?" yelled Inuyasha.

            "Sango was the rabbit who pretended to attack Kagome," Shippou said in his defense. "I wasn't the only one who was pretending."

            "What?" asked Kagome, unbelieving of Sango.

            "It wasn't entirely my fault," Sango said quickly. "I mean, your brother was the one who threw that fog spell in."

            "Souta?" asked Kagome.

            "Yeah, but Kohaku helped, too," Miroku said, earning a glare from Sango.

            "All of you were in this?" asked Inuyasha incredulously.

            "Yeah, well…"

            "I don't believe this!" Kagome said. "Souta! Souta!" she shouted, storming to the house. How dare her brother meddle in her affairs? How dare any of them?!

            A wave of dizziness hit her and she quickly stepped back. She looked back at Inuyasha, who was a little ways away from her.

            "Seven meters," she said out loud. She knew that the distance between her house and Inuyasha's was definitely more than seven meters.

            "I guess you're going to have to stay with Kagome tonight," Miroku said in a voice that only **he** would use. Inuyasha socked him in the face.

            "Your mother says it's all right for you to stay tonight," Mrs. Higurashi said. "So welcome to our humble abode!"

            "Thanks," Inuyasha mumbled, feeling out of place. He knew that he had been in this house several times, but this time he felt as if he didn't really belong.

            "You're going to sleep in the guest room," Mrs. Higurashi continued. "It's a good thing that the room is right across from Kagome's, otherwise we might have some problems."

            "I'm going to do my homework," Kagome said, heading upstairs. Suddenly they both felt a wave of dizziness, and Kagome quickly took a step back while Inuyasha took a step towards her.

            "This sucks…"

            Kagome had to agree.

            Kagome lay on her bed, trying to sleep. The distance between their beds was just enough so that they could both lie down without getting dizzy. Kagome was slightly annoyed with the spell, but on the other hand, she was also glad for it. She was glad to have finally understood what went through Inuyasha's mind.

            But now that she knew, she didn't know how to fix it. How was she supposed to get Inuyasha back to normal? Well, as normal as he could be, that is. She knew she couldn't just ask him to forget part of himself; that would be selfish and unfair. But she couldn't stand seeing him struggle with himself everyday. She wanted him to be happy, or at least as he was before.

            She sighed, wondering what was the best course to take. Should she try to guide Inuyasha on a certain path? What if he thought she was annoying? Did she have the right to guide him? Did she even know which path was the right one?

            She sighed again, at a loss for what she could do.

            "Stop sighing," a muffled voice said grumpily. She had forgotten how good his hearing was. She stopped sighing, and eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

            She was in a field of softly swaying grass, whose harmony was broken with the beat of feet against them, crushing them to their death as the owners trampled them to attack their enemy. She turned towards where they were charging and saw two lone sentinels, who were soon joined by several others. But even together, they did not have enough to fight the onslaught of youkai that were charging towards them. They were all fighting for their lives, and one side's defeat, would be the other side's freedom.

            She saw an elegant lady mount atop what looked like Kirara. Besides her stood a few more people. The light behind them made it hard to make out their faces. She looked at the attacking side, and saw that their side was covered with shadow.__

_            "Keeper of the Jewel… Let it be known that this battle will not end in victory. The balance of the world will forever be linked in destiny with the Shikon no Tama. One more force is needed to tip the balance in the favor of the Light. Find the Last Soul. Find the key to end this battle forever…"_

            She woke up suddenly, hearing someone knocking on her door.

            "The Last Soul? What's that?" asked Kagome to herself, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The knocking continued. "What do you want?"

            "Get up already!" Inuyasha's grumpy voice rang out. "I need to use the restroom."

            "You don't need me to baby-sit you," Kagome said, equally grumpy.

            "The restroom isn't seven feet away from your room!"

            "Oh," Kagome said stupidly, realizing why Inuyasha wanted her up. She got up reluctantly, put a coat over her pajamas and opened the door. "Let's go," she said, walking slowly. Suddenly she ran down the stairs, into the restroom and shut the door behind her. She felt dizzy, but only for a moment. She knew Inuyasha would come down fairly quickly.

            "What do you think you're doing?" shouted Inuyasha.

            "Ladies first," she gloated, and proceeded to do her morning ritual as slowly as possible.

**Author's Note (Again):** Was this chapter confusing? Too rushed? Too slow? I didn't really get to let this chapter rest in my mind for a while like I did with the other chapters, so I don't know if it even makes any sense. If clarification is needed, just ask, and I'll try to answer your questions (unless it's answered later in the story).

Is there something wrong with the pacing of this story? I don't know about you, but I feel as if though I'm rushing at some parts and slowing down too much at others.

Anyway, some of you asked for lighter stuff, and some for more dark… I hope I accomplished the lighter parts in this chapter, and I think (actually I hope) the more serious stuff happens in the next chapter. Things usually don't turn out the way I plan it, which is probably why this story is so long.

By the way, congratulations for passing the 300 page mark. I don't know how you guys can manage to read this much, but I'm glad that you are.

Hmm… Should I start a new story? Don't worry, I'll still finish this one, but should I write another story simultaneously? Might be hard on my schedule though… Oh well.


	40. A Bit Too Many Spells

**Author's Notes: **My sister said this chapter was kind of perverted, so you can skip it if you want. It's just a little bit of humor before we start getting to the serious stuff again. All you need to know from this chapter is that an old man is burnt to death and Inuyasha puts a spell on Miroku. Okay, I think that's it. If you want to skip it, click the chapter button.

****

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty: A Bit Too Many Spells**

            She watched the old man in the temple as she perched precariously on the branch of a tall tree. He was shuffling around as if the world held no joy for him, and she had to stop herself from snorting at such a pitiful creature.__

_            Ningen are pathetic, _she thought. _I really should kill this weak creature and save him from his own misery. Watching him makes me sick._

            She wondered about how some youkai were able to stand the presence of these disgusting creatures. She only tolerated the humans because of her master. Speaking of which…__

_            Time for you to die, old man._ She raised her hand, ready to shoot her poisonous acid at him when she changed her mind.__

_            Killing him is what Naraku wants, _she thought. _If I only pretend I've killed him, maybe that will mess up his plans…_ She knew she was pathetic, resorting to such a petty measure for revenge.__

_            If only I had my heart. Then I would be free of that bastard…_

            Suddenly she felt her mind drift away, and a moment later, she realized that her surroundings had changed. She looked around the dim room and recognized that she was in Naraku's castle.__

_            So he switched our bodies,_ she thought. _He must have known I wasn't going to kill the old man._ She had to stop herself from laughing at Naraku's absurd fear of her messing up his plans. _Serves him right for keeping me prisoner. Which reminds me…_

            She looked at the different wall scrolls in the room, and finally found one that looked suspicious to her. She lifted up the wall scroll and dispelled the spell that had been laid on the secret opening in the wall and took out a small jar. Then she quickly redid the spell and replaced the wall scroll.__

_            Where do I hide this?_ She looked around for a place suitable to hide the heart of her imprisonment. Finally, she hid it behind the curtain, and waited for Naraku to reclaim his body.

            In a moment, she returned to where she had been before, except now, there was only a pile of smoldering ashes where the temple had been. No doubt Naraku had been very thorough. 

            "Pass me the butter please," said Kagome politely.

            "Get it yourself," said Inuyasha rudely. Obviously, he was still sour about what she had done in the morning.

            "Oh, grow up, Inuyasha," she said, getting the butter herself.

            "You're the one who played that childish trick," he growled at his cereal.

            "Hey, it's not my fault that you're so slow to react," Kagome said smugly. Inuyasha only sighed. Suddenly someone knocked at the door.

            "I'll get it," said Shippou, jumping up to grab the doorknob in order to open it. In walked Sango and Miroku, who looked like he had something behind his back.

            "Are you guys ready to go to school?" asked Sango. Kagome looked at the clock. It was still six, and normally she would have been asleep, had it not been for Inuyasha.

            "Ah. The lovely Monday morning," Miroku said.

            "Isn't it a little early for school?" frowned Kagome.

            "Yes, well…" Miroku said, moving towards Inuyasha, who had just finished his cereal and was starting to wash the bowl. "I've just got a surprise for you all!" Then he threw some strange pink powder over Inuyasha, causing him to sneeze and almost drop the bowl.

            "What was that?" asked Inuyasha, still sneezing.

            "Hmm," said Miroku, waiting for the effects of his new idea to take hold. "Just a stronger love spell."

            "I told you to stop with your stupid spells!" yelled Inuyasha, who had not stopped sneezing yet.

            "Miroku, I thought I told you that I don't appreciate love spells," Kagome said, annoyed with the former monk.

            "Well, you'll be thanking me once the spell takes place," Miroku said.

            "If it takes place at all," Sango said. "You told me it would be just a few seconds before it worked, and it looks like Inuyasha is still busy sneezing."

            "Yes, well—" He wasn't able to finish his sentence for Inuyasha suddenly threw a punch at him. "Hah! You missed," Miroku said smugly.

            "Did I?" asked Inuyasha, who had finally stopped sneezing. Kagome and Sango looked at Miroku, expecting him to sprout horns on the top of his head, but nothing happened.

            "I'm not falling for your bluff," Miroku said, walking out the door. "And seriously, we have to get to school. I want to meet that substitute for Sesshoumaru."

            "Why?" asked Sango, following Miroku out.

            "Because it's a woman," Miroku said. He suddenly realized what he said and cringed. But thankfully, Sango was holding her temper.

            "Let's go," Inuyasha said, handing Kagome her backpack and putting his own on. "I want to see how my little experiment works out."

            Kagome wondered what he was talking about.

            Something was seriously wrong with him today. For some reason, he kept on saying his thoughts out loud. Like when they were walking to school, he saw an ugly woman, and actually called her ugly to her face. Normally he wouldn't do that, but something was definitely wrong with him today.

            "Kagome!" Kagome's friends called out to her, walking to her. Despite their leaving early, they had still gotten to school at the usual time. They kept on being sidetracked, especially by all the things he was saying today.

            "Hey, Ayumi," he said. "You look good with that scarf."

            "Thanks," she giggled. Sango shot him a look. He wondered why he had just said that out loud.

            "Just because I'm commenting on another girl, doesn't mean you have to get all jealous," Miroku said. He quickly clamped his mouth shut. Why had he just said that to her?

            "I'm not jealous!" denied Sango, her cheeks flushing red.

            "You look so pretty when you're embarrassed," he said. He didn't have to smack himself on the head for Sango did it for him.

            "Sango!" Kagome's friends said in shock. Sango stormed off towards the school building.

            "Why did you have to go and say that?" asked Kagome.

            "I don't know," said Miroku. "It's just that I'm saying everything that I'm thinking today." He wondered if it was a spell of some sort, and looked suspiciously at Inuyasha, who was starting to sneeze crazily again.

            "You did this, didn't you?" asked Miroku, trying to pull Inuyasha away from Kagome and her friends. He almost forgot not to go beyond seven feet.

            "What—achoo!—are you—achoo!—talking about?" asked Inuyasha, trying to stop his sneezing. 

            "You did something to me this morning when you tried to punch me, didn't you?" asked Miroku mercilessly as he watched Inuyasha sneeze like crazy.

            "Serves you right," he said, continuing to sneeze.

            "Fine," said Miroku. "Then I won't take that spell off you."

            "What's happening to you has nothing to do with me," Inuyasha said in his defense, his voice sounding like he had a stuffy nose. "I put a spell on for you to tell the truth, not tell everything that you're thinking."

            "Well I am!" said Miroku. "Take the stupid spell off." Inuyasha looked at him funny, then started to sneeze again.

            "Well?" Miroku asked impatiently. "Take it off." 

After his sneezing episode had subsided, Inuyasha finally looked at him straight in the eye and said, "I don't know how."

"What?!" shouted Miroku. "I can't believe this! And I was about to tell you that to take the spell off, all you had to do was kiss Kagome." He quickly closed his mouth with his hand. He had said too much.

"What?!" shouted Inuyasha at him. "How 'bout I knock what's remaining of your pitiful brain out!" But he never got the chance to because he started sneezing again.

"You should be glad that the spell isn't working as it's supposed to," Miroku said, watching his friend sneeze his brains out. "You're supposed to be walking around like a zombie thinking about Kagome."

Inuyasha was going to throttle Miroku, but sneezing was taking too much of his time. Miroku heard the first bell ring and sighed. He dragged the sneezing Inuyasha with him to Kagome and her friends, and they all went inside the building together.

He looked at Kagome's red face, and knew that he had shouted a bit too loudly and she had heard what he had said. He sighed. Two people were going to be after his blood.

Kagome squirmed in her seat. She had already sat through three boring classes and had one class to go before lunch. She squirmed in her seat again. She really had to go, and she had to go now. But the problem was Inuyasha. She doubted that the teacher was going to let Inuyasha go with her if she needed to go to the restroom.

So she had to wait. And wait. And wait…

Finally the lunch bell rang and she quickly grabbed Inuyasha out of the classroom, walking quickly to the girl's room.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he demanded, trying to keep himself from tripping. It seemed like people were often dragging him around lately.

"I need to go to the restroom!" Kagome hissed. "So you'll have to come with me."

"I'm not going into the girl's room," Inuyasha said, stopping in shock. "There's no way I'm going to the bathroom with you."

"All you have to do is stand outside," Kagome said impatiently.

"Stand outside a girl's bathroom?!" Inuyasha said. "People are going to think I'm perverted or something!"

"Pleeeease," Kagome pleaded. "Do it for me?" If Inuyasha said no, she was going to have to hurt him. He didn't reply at all, for Miroku's spell started to take effect again and he was starting to sneeze. "Come on," Kagome said, dragging Inuyasha away, who couldn't resist since the sneezing was taking up all of his energy. "Just stand out here," Kagome said, and quickly walked into the restroom before Inuyasha could do anything. She knew he wouldn't just walk away, even if it **was** going to cost him his pride.

She walked to the stalls and was about to go in when she felt a wave of dizziness hit her. She quickly stepped back and looked at the distance she had walked. It wasn't even seven meters.

"Inuyasha," she called, walking to the door. "You better not have gone off anywhere." She opened the door and saw that Inuyasha was still standing out there, sneezing. She walked into the restroom again but when she was about to reach the first stall, she felt the dizziness hit her.

"Kagome! What do you think you're doing?" shouted Inuyasha. "Stop walking too far away!"

"You're the one who's walking away!" Kagome said, walking outside to Inuyasha again. He hadn't moved at all.

"What are you talking about?" asked Inuyasha. Kagome realized that the shorter distance was probably a side effect of Miroku's spell. _I am so going to kill him,_ Kagome thought, her fists shaking.

"Inuyasha, please step inside with me," she said through clenched teeth.

"What?! No way!" he shouted at her.

"I really need to go!" she hissed. "I've been holding this for hours!"

"So what?" he said unsympathetically. 

"Inuyasha!" she said, irritated with him.

"I'm going to kill Miroku," he said as he reluctantly went into the bathroom with her. He locked the door behind him.

"Why are you—"

"So no one sees me in here," he said, his cheeks turning a very interesting color.

"Right," she said, going to a stall quickly. _This is so embarrassing,_ she thought. _Asking a guy to go to the bathroom with me…_ She was going to make Miroku die a slow and painful death.

"Eek! What are you doing in here?" she heard a girl's voice squeak.

"I, uh, thought this was the boy's bathroom," Inuyasha replied lamely. Kagome hit herself on the head.

"The boy's bathroom is on the other side," the girl said suspiciously.

"Well, what do you know?" Inuyasha laughed nervously. He looked at the girl who was still looking at him strangely.

"Aren't you going to go?" she asked.

"Go where?" asked Inuyasha innocently.

"To the boy's bathroom!" she said impatiently. Kagome tried to hurry up and save Inuyasha from further embarrassment.

"But, uh, uh… The girl's bathroom is so much nicer!" he said quickly. Kagome had to stop herself from laughing. Inuyasha wouldn't appreciate it if she did.

The girl sidled away from him, quickly washing her hands and then trying to open the door, which she failed to notice was locked.

"Ahhh! What have you done to the door!" she shouted. "Help!"

"It's just locked," Inuyasha said, pointing to the lock. She quickly unlocked it and ran out, saying something like "pervert" loudly. Kagome walked out of the stall and washed her hands, avoiding eye contact with Inuyasha for fear of bursting out laughing.

"Ahem," she said trying to clear her throat. "Shall we go?" she asked as if nothing was wrong.

"You owe me big time," he grumbled, his cheeks on fire with embarrassment. Kagome just smiled at him.

Inuyasha's spell was not helping him at all. He had already gotten detention for talking so much in class, and he knew there was more waiting for him. At least Sango was walking next to him now.

"That girl has a nice ass," he said before he could stop his thoughts. "But not as nice as Sango's." He tried to clamp his mouth shut, but it just wouldn't shut up. "I'm sorry, Sango, but I didn't mean to say that!"

"You were thinking it, though," she said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"But, it's true. You're so much prettier than everyone else," he said, glad for once that his mind wasn't thinking of something else. "Not to mention that you look much more sexy than everyone else." Okay, maybe his mind was thinking of something else.

"Miroku!" she said, her face thoroughly red.

"Sango! I didn't mean to embarrass you! It's just this stupid spell!" he said.

"Well…" she said, ready to forgive him.

"But that girl has bigger boobs than you," he said. She slapped him. "Bigger doesn't mean better!" he said, trying to find a way to stop making Sango so mad. He was going to kill Inuyasha when he found him. Where had that idiot gone anyway?

Suddenly, he heard a door slam open and a girl walking out of the bathroom, shouting "pervert." A moment later, Inuyasha and Kagome emerged from the girl's bathroom.

"What were you doing in the girls' bathroom?" asked Miroku, looking at Inuyasha suspiciously. "I never would have believed that it was in you to do that."

"Keep your sick thoughts to yourself," Inuyasha said sourly.

"How can I if you've made it so that I can't even think without getting Sango mad?" Miroku retorted.

"It's your own fault for using all these stupid spells," Inuyasha grouched.

"But I didn't ruin your **privacy** with those spells," Miroku said. "Unlike your stupid spell, which is making everyone know what I'm thinking."

"Didn't ruin my **privacy**?" Inuyasha all but shouted. "I can't even step away from Kagome without one of us getting dizzy. Don't you talk to **me** about privacy. Besides, it's not my fault that you have sick thoughts!"

"Just take the spell off!"

"I can't!"

The two boys glared at each other, neither one ready to back down.

Inuyasha started to sneeze again, and he didn't stop until lunch was over.

"How about this?" asked Miroku as he saw that Inuyasha was starting to run out of air from sneezing and that there was no way the idiot could break the spell by himself. Especially since no girl wanted to be sneezed on before they were kissed. "I'll take that spell off you, and you attempt to take the spell off me."

"Sure," Inuyasha said between two of his sneezes. Miroku took out a small pouch with blue powder in it and sprinkled it over Inuyasha, who coughed as the cloud of powder descended on him.

"This better not make him cough like crazy," Kagome said dryly as Inuyasha stopped coughing.

"Now, take the spell off me," Miroku said. Inuyasha looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Here goes nothing," he said. He concentrated his youki on Miroku and slowly unwove the spell that he had so carelessly placed on him. "I think that's it," he said as he was finished. "Well? Are you still speaking your thoughts?"

Miroku looked at Inuyasha, then at Kagome. He didn't say anything at all!

"Yes! I'm cured," he said. "If I had known that you could have cured me, I would have forced you to do it earlier." Then he ran off to find Sango before class started.

"Why didn't you just cure him before?" asked Kagome as they both walked to class.

"I didn't want to let him go that easy," he said. "Besides, I didn't really cure him…"

"Eh? I thought you just did," said Kagome, confused.

"Well, he kept complaining about his spell, so I just replaced it with another one," Inuyasha said. "I already told you people, I don't know how to take spells off. I'll have to ask my mom later."

"So what is this new spell supposed to do?" asked Kagome after a brief pause.

"I seriously have no clue," he replied. Kagome felt sorry for Miroku, but not too sorry. After all, he had had it coming for quite a while.


	41. Till Death Do Us Apart

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-One: Till Death Do Us Apart**

            Sango looked at Miroku, who looked like he was bored. It turned out that the substitute that he had been expecting was an old woman. She was glad that Inuyasha had taken the spell off him, otherwise Miroku would have had serious detention after school.

            Suddenly the phone rang and the substitute picked it up.

            "Is there a Miroku in here?" she asked. Miroku raised his hand. "It's for you," she said. Sango wondered what was the phone call for, and it looked like Miroku didn't have a clue either.

            "Hello?" he said cautiously. Then, "What?!"

            The entire class quieted down. Miroku's face became stony. He nodded, his face grave. He handed the phone back to the substitute.

            "Hello?" she asked, wondering what was wrong. "Oh dear. I'm sorry. Yes. Of course." She hung up and turned to the class. "Kagome, Sango, Inuyasha, and Miroku. You are to leave school right now. I believe one of your parents is already waiting in the parking lot."

            They looked at each other and wondered what was wrong. Miroku immediately began packing his things, so the others followed suit. They walked outside in silence, afraid to disturb him. His mother was in the car, waiting for them. She looked like she had been crying.

            He couldn't believe what had happened. With all the things that had been going on, he had forgotten all about him. He had forgotten his original mission.

            "He was a good man, who strived to live his life in the path of light…"

            He was a good man. He hadn't been the best of them, but he had been a good man. _If only I had told him… If I had told him what was going on, then maybe he would have been prepared._

            "Miroku, are you alright?" Sango asked him. He just tried his best to smile at her. __

_            It was all my fault. I should have told him from the start. I should have told him about Naraku, Kagome, the Shikon no Tama… Everything. But I didn't. I didn't even warn him. And now he's gone._

            He watched as his father carefully placed the jar of ashes in front of the priest. It was because of him. It was he who had caused his grandfather to die. Had he not been involved, Naraku never would have had a cause to eliminate his grandfather.

            "Gomen, Ojii-san," he whispered. Sango put a comforting arm around him.

            "My father…had tried his best to live an ideal life," Miroku's father started. "He tried to help others, and became a priest on the belief that he would be able to serve the people best from that position…"__

_            And because he was a priest, his ashes had been cursed by the youkai who killed him, _Miroku thought to himself. _That was why my parents wanted him buried as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he would soon become a servant of the dark, his soul forever trapped…_

            The priest started to pray as some people laid the small jar carefully on the holy ground, their prayer beads clicking as they hoped to summon their deity to protect this soul.

            Miroku put his hands together and prayed. Why had Naraku gone after his grandfather? He hadn't told him anything. The old man had known nothing that would have jeopardized Naraku's plans. Or had he?

            His grandfather had been an expert at finding out what people didn't want him to find out. Had he discovered Naraku's plot on his own?__

_            I should have at least warned him… I should have told him, or tried to protect him… But I hadn't done anything. And now he's gone. He was burnt to death, alone, with no one to care for him. What kind of grandson am I?_

            "What have you guys done to my temple?!" a familiar voice shouted. Miroku turned around quickly.

            "Ojii-san?" he asked, stupefied. Wasn't he dead? Miroku turned around and looked at the half buried jar. If his grandfather was alive, then who were they burying?

            "Otou-san?!" his father asked, surprised. "You're—you're alive?"

            "Of course I'm alive," he said, walking towards them in his familiar monk robes. "What else would I be?"

            "But you've been burnt to death," his father said, dumbfounded.

            "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "I can't be burnt to death so easily."

            "Then who are we holding the ceremony for?" asked Miroku's mother. The old man looked at the air around them, and uttered a small spell under his breath.

            "It seems that he's finally found peace," the old man said.

            "Who?" asked Miroku, walking next to his grandfather.

            "No one. Just an old man who used to hang around this temple threatening to suicide everyday," he said. "Never had the guts to do it, though. I think he's happy that someone's finally done it for him."

            "What?" asked the rest of the people who were at the funeral.

            "Show's over, people, go home," his grandfather said loudly. His friends and relatives left in confusion, wondering what had just happened. "And go back to your job," he said to his son and his daughter-in-law. "Miroku, I'd like to have a word with you."

            Miroku followed his grandfather away from the rest of them, wondering what his grandfather was going to say to him. Was he going to reprimand him? Tell him that he was disappointed in him?

            "That's a fine girl you got there," he said suddenly. Miroku tripped and fell on his face.

            "What?!"

            "I said, 'that's a fine girl you got there,'" he repeated.

            "I heard you the first time," Miroku said, dusting himself off and shaking his head at his grandfather.

            "But it seems like you aren't moving fast enough," he said. "Do you want me to give you pointers?"

            "No thanks," Miroku said, laughing embarrassedly. "By the way, where were you? We all thought you were dead."

            "I was… None of your business," his grandfather said, turning away from him. Miroku sighed. He couldn't believe that a man his age was still chasing after women.

            "I should have known," Miroku sighed.

            "Don't talk to your elder in that tone," his grandfather said. "By the way, did you find out any information?"

            "Yes," Miroku said, knowing what his grandfather was talking about. "You see, it turns out that there's this jewel—"

            "Called the Shikon no Tama and there's a youkai named Naraku after it, and there's a miko who's trying to protect it," his grandfather said. "Right?"

            "Uh, yeah," Miroku said, surprised that his grandfather knew so much.

            "Hah! I've still got it!" he said, doing a little dance. "All we have to do is keep it out of Naraku's hands, and we'll be fine. By the way, have you found out who the miko is?"

            "Yes, I have but," Miroku hesitated, waiting for his grandfather to stop dancing. "The jewel, or at least most of it, has already been lost to Naraku."

            "What?" his grandfather said, suddenly serious. "And what of the miko?"

            "She's still okay," Miroku said, wondering if he should mention the little spell that was on Kagome and Inuyasha right now.

            "Well, at least we still have a chance," he said.

            "We're getting ready to fight Naraku," Miroku said, hoping that would help.

            "You're in no shape to fight him, even with the miko's help," his grandfather said. Suddenly he saw the prayer beads on Miroku's hand. "You…"

            "It's nothing," Miroku said, quickly hiding the hand behind him.

            "This is worst than I thought. It seems like he has already punished you for getting involved," he said. "I'm sorry I got you into this."

            "Ojii-san, there's no need to apologize. I would've gotten involved sooner or later," he said.

            "But I'm the one who pushed you to it," he said, rubbing his head.

            "Actually… Ojii-san, listen to me," Miroku started, but suddenly his grandfather was staring at something in back of him. Miroku looked back, but all he saw were Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sango talking to each other.

            "Musashino… He looks like a real youkai now," his grandfather said softly. Miroku still saw Inuyasha with black hair, and realized that his grandfather could see past his illusion. "What has happened?"

            Miroku told him everything.

            Inuyasha and Kagome were in the kitchen, washing dishes together since they couldn't do anything else that involved their separation. They had gone to Sango's house after his "grandfather's" funeral, where they had dinner cooked by Sango. He had never known that she was such an excellent cook before.

            "Listen up," his grandfather started. Miroku saw Inuyasha's white ear twitch slightly on the top of his head. He had gotten so used to seeing the human Inuyasha that it was a bit strange seeing him as he used to look all those years ago.

            "You've told me all you've discovered, so I'll tell you what I found out," he said. "You were right in your assumption that Naraku wants the Shikon no Tama, but you do not know why he wants it." He waited until Inuyasha and Kagome finished the dishes and sat down around the table. Miroku still hadn't told his grandfather about his little spell yet.

            "Does he want it to rule the world?" asked Sango.

            "That is only partially true," he said. "Your conception of ruling the world is for him to take the Shikon no Tama and force his way into power." The other three nodded, while Miroku just listened. "But that's not what he's planning."

            "How do you know?" asked Inuyasha.

            "You've gotten rude, boy," Miroku's grandfather said. "I know because I was successful in getting someone on the inside who knew what Naraku's plan was."

            "And who would that be?" asked Kagome.

            "I'm not allowed to tell you," he said. "The point is—"

            "How do we know if your contact is reliable?" asked Inuyasha.

            "Stop interrupting me, boy," he said. "I know that it's reliable because I've dealt with the likes of her before," he said.

            "So it's a woman," Sango said.

            "Ojii-san, are you sure this woman is trustworthy?" asked Miroku, knowing how his grandfather got around with those of the opposite gender.

            "Stop asking me that!" he shouted. "She's trustworthy, I'm telling you! Besides, I went and snooped around that Naraku's castle myself and I can verify that everything she's said is true."

            "How did an old guy like you manage to sneak around Naraku's castle?" asked Inuyasha, not bothering to be polite.

            "Do you young people know nothing?" he asked. "I'm a priest, but I also know the power of other arts. I made a straw man and used him to sneak around in the castle. Do you honestly think that I'm going to risk my real body to spy on a youkai such as Naraku?"

            "A straw man?" asked Kagome.

            "Is that like a voodoo doll or something?" asked Sango, confused.

            "Yes—NO! It is not a voodoo doll," he said. "Ah, forget it. You people obviously will never understand. The point is, I know why Naraku wants that Shikon no Tama so badly."

            "So get to the point already," Inuyasha said.

            "Then stop distracting me," the old man said, brushing a hand through his still thick hair. "There is a careful balance within the Shikon no Tama, as you should already know. There is not only a balance between the four souls, but also between the light and the dark. Naraku wants to use the Shikon no Tama to pollute it with darkness. Now, the Shikon no Tama is a reflection of our world. When it gets more corrupted, our world becomes filled with more evil. When it gets purified, our world becomes purer, too."

            "How did you find that out?" asked Kagome, not remembering anyone who told her about this.

            "You must read the ancient scroll that talks about a man-made jewel," he replied. "It wasn't called the Shikon no Tama in the scroll, but the prophet who wrote the scroll knew that such a jewel was going to exist someday. He knew of the nature of the jewel, even if he did not know what it was going to be called.

            "As I was saying, the Shikon no Tama is a reflection of our world. Naraku wants to pollute it so that our world will be filled with evil. When that happens, he won't have to lift a finger and the world will be his."

            "How do you know it's going to be his?" asked Kagome. "Why not someone else's?"

            "The Shikon no Tama will be filled with **his** evil, so essentially, his evil will be polluting our world," he explained patiently. "In fact, I believe it is already happening. I believe that he had two small shards prior to stealing yours," he said, "and with those two shards, he has already caused many ill effects on our land. Normally, he should not have that much power, but it is partly our fault as humans. We've been helping him pollute the world, so his influence over this world has been greater than it should be."

            "Are you talking about real pollution or crime rates?" asked Sango, not quite sure she was following the old man's explanation.

            "Both," he said. "And now he has almost all the pieces of the Shikon no Tama. I think he's going to search for the last one to complete the jewel, and plunge the world in to total chaos."

            "But Shippou-chan has the last piece!" said Kagome, jumping out of her chair. "I have to go warn him!"

            "Kagome! Wait!" shouted Inuyasha as she ran out of the door. "Damn it," he said, as he grabbed both of their coats from the hanger and ran after her. His illusion flickered on as soon as he exited the door.

            "Ojii-san, are they in any immediate danger?" Miroku asked.

            "I don't know," his grandfather replied. "If Naraku had wanted the shard, why didn't he just grab it before we found out about his plans?"

            "He's probably waiting for something," Sango said. "That guy likes to make shows out of everything," she said, clenching her fist.

            "Hmm…" he said thoughtfully. "It seems that Musashino really likes Kagome," Miroku's grandfather said out of the blue. "He ran after her so quickly." Miroku only smiled nervously.

            "Actually, Miroku put a spell on them so that they can't get beyond seven feet of each other or else they'll start getting dizzy and stuff," Sango said. There was a strange rustling in the bushes outside and Miroku suddenly felt as if though something had been hidden from all of them.

            "You did what?" asked his grandfather, shoving him back to reality. "I told you not to do any spells without my supervision!"

            "Hey, I probably know more spells than you," Miroku grumbled.

            "How dare you speak to me that way?!"

            "Are we going to go after Inuyasha and Kagome or not?" asked Sango as she put her coat on.

            "Coming," Miroku said. He felt his grandfather poke him in the ribs. "What?" he asked.

            "You guys are going to be alone. Make sure you use this time wisely, Miroku," he whispered.

            "Whatever, Ojii-san," Miroku said, shaking his head. Then he followed Sango into the night.

            Kagome ran into her house out of breath while Inuyasha stood next to her, barely winded at all. He put both of their coats on the hanger and started to walk towards the stairs.

            "Shippou! Oi, Shippou!" he called. There seemed to be no one home. Kagome started looking around and spotted a note stuck to the refrigerator. It read:__

_            "We'll be gone for awhile with Kohaku and his parents. If you're hungry, ramen is in the cupboard. See you tomorrow."_

            "Inuyasha, they're not home," she said as she handed him the note.

            "Great. We ran all the way back for nothing," he said. Kagome looked at the note. Something didn't feel right.

            "Why would they just leave so suddenly?" she asked. She felt a strange presence coming near them.

            "How would I know?" asked Inuyasha. She noticed that he sounded distracted, as if he too felt something supernatural approaching them.

            She opened the door and looked out into the night. The cold wind blew her hair across her face, but other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. She saw the branches of the God tree sway as if a strong wind was blowing at it, whipping the leaves through the air.

            "Something doesn't smell right," Inuyasha said, standing at the door next to her.

            "Is it a youkai?" she asked. He shook his head.

            "I don't know… It smells weird. I don't… I can't recognize it," he said, confused. "Kagome, get down!" he said suddenly, shoving her down. She felt a strong wind blow over her head, and saw a few strands of her hair float down in front of her.

            "Inuyasha, wha—"

            "Move!" Inuyasha shouted as he pulled her up and yanked her away. In place of where she had just been was a deep cut on the ground.

            "What's going on?" she asked, screaming as she felt something nick her cheek.

            "Get on my back! Quick!" Inuyasha shouted. She clambered onto him like she had done so long ago. He leapt away just as some invisible force crashed onto the ground. Had he been any slower, they would have both been mincemeat.

            "It's wind," Inuyasha said, evading another deadly invisible blow. "Something's controlling the wind."

            Kagome searched through the darkness, hoping to see what Inuyasha could not. But she didn't find anything. There was no hair to guide her this time. There was no visible force for her to see.

            "Kagome, do you see anything?" asked Inuyasha, trying his best to evade the wind.

            "Nothing. I don't see anything!" she said in panic, trying to find the source of this strange wind. Suddenly she felt a force knock her off Inuyasha's back, causing her to crash on the ground.

            "Kagome!" she heard him shout, and then there was the sound of something cutting flesh. She looked up and saw a huge gash in Inuyasha, who was barely able to stand up.

            "Inuyasha!" she screamed as she saw the wind form a sharp point and drive itself through Inuyasha. She had finally seen something, but had it been too late?

            She soon felt a similar needle of the wind tear through her. She felt the blood trickle out of her mouth as she fell on the ground, barely conscious.

            "Kagome-chan!" she heard someone call distantly. She heard the familiar clinking of beads as Miroku opened his air rip to suck the strange wind into his vacuum. But she didn't care about that. She didn't care about that at all.

            "Kagome-chan," she heard Sango call. She felt someone lift her head up.

            "I-Inuyasha," she whispered. Something had been on that wind when it was stabbed into him. Something she knew was meant to kill him.

            "He'll be alright," she heard her say. "Miroku! Call the ambulance!" Kagome heard a shuffling of feet as Miroku ran off into the house. She tried to shake her head. Inuyasha wasn't going to be all right.

            A few moments later, the ambulance arrived. Kagome began to feel dizzy as she and Inuyasha were put into two different ambulances. She felt her breath catch in her chest and her heart start to beat painfully.

            "Can't you put them together?" someone asked. It sounded like Sango.

            "…won't fit…" someone replied. Kagome began to feel another mind enter hers; a mind that was as riddled with pain as she was.

            "She's having trouble breathing!"

            "Something's wrong with her heart rate!"

            Kagome tried to reach Inuyasha, to try to reassure him that everything was going to be fine. But she couldn't reach him. She felt someone inject something in her, and soon she lost consciousness.

            Kagome awoke to pain. Something was helping her breathe, but her heart still felt like it was about to burst, though not to such a great extent as before. The scene around her was blurred, and she couldn't quite piece what she saw together.

            "Kagome-chan, are you all right?" asked Sango. Kagome couldn't really understand her words. Where was Inuyasha?

            "We… We tried to get you and Inuyasha into the same hospital, but I don't know—they said they were out of room in the other hospital—but that doesn't make any sense—and the doctors wouldn't let us see Inuyasha," Sango said in one breath. She was starting to cry hysterically. "Something's wrong with Miroku. He's—he's been like he's in a trance for the last few hours. We—I can't break this spell, Kagome-chan. I don't know what to do, Kagome-chan," she said, sobbing.

            Kagome didn't understand what she was babbling about. All she wanted to know was where was Inuyasha?

            She felt a new mind slowly start to awaken and join her in her pain.__

_            I-Inuyasha? Is—is that you?_

            She felt a slight affirmation. She felt her pains double as she experienced his pain, as well as her own. She was almost knocked unconscious as she felt their anguish multiply by their connection to each other. She was barely able to string together a coherent thought.__

_            Inuyasha…hold on,_ she said painfully. _I'll go to you. Just hold on a little bit longer._

            She tried to get up, but failed.__

_            Don't—don't try to come to me,_ he said, his words laced with agony. _Just stay where you are. It'll soon be over._

            Kagome didn't know what he meant by that, but his mind slowly fell unconscious and drifted away from her again.

            When he woke up again, he felt the same as he had before. The same difficulty breathing, and the same wild beating of his heart. He felt Kagome's mind there again, and he could feel their agony magnify as their minds connected again. He wished he could just slip away and save them both from further pain, but something was holding him back. Something in him told him not to leave yet.__

_            Inuyasha?_ The voice was weak and seemed far away. He wanted to respond to her, but he found that he couldn't. He was too tired, and yet his soul beckoned for him to call back to her, to reassure her, to comfort her as he could.

            _Fire…and water,_ he heard her whisper. What was that girl talking about?__

_            They—they don't mix, do they?_ He couldn't stand hearing her voice in pain.__

_            But—but when they do, they'll be stronger… They'll become the earth, ever dependable, ever steady…_

            Steady… Steady as serenity. Steady as peace. 

He had to find his medium. He had to find the balance between the water and the fire. He had to find the earth within himself. He couldn't be Inuyasha. He couldn't be Musashino.

            He realized what he had to be.

            Kagome called out to him, but he didn't answer. She knew he was still there, though.__

_            Fire…and water, _she said as she remembered Toutousai's words. _They—they don't mix, do they? But—but when they do, they'll be stronger… They'll become the earth, ever dependable, ever steady…_

_            Inuyasha… Like the fire and the water, you must find your center. Neither rage like the storm of fire nor sigh like the winds of water… Become the everlasting earth. Fire cannot burn it. Water cannot drown it. Become like the earth, Inuyasha, and find your peace…_

            She felt exhausted with her little speech. She hoped Inuyasha would understand what she meant. She hoped that he would finally understand himself.__

_            Kagome…_

_            Inuyasha?_

_            I-I'm sorry… I should have realized this sooner…_

_            What is it? _It was taking all her effort just to stay conscious and speak with him.__

_            I… I… I love you, Kagome. I should have realized this sooner. I should have told you sooner._

            Kagome was at a loss for words. She hadn't expected him to say something like that at a time like this.__

_            Forgive me… I'm sorry, Kagome._

_            Inuyasha, I—_ Suddenly she was cut off. Inuyasha's mind left hers completely, leaving a void, and she woke up suddenly, sitting straight up on the bed. She looked around her and saw that Sango was sleeping at the foot of her bed, her tears dry on her face. The dizziness, the breathing problems, the pain in her heart… It had all disappeared. 

But so had Inuyasha.

**Author's Notes:** Hah! That's two chapters at a time! Yes… Winter break is nice…

I guess I won't start a new story until I've finished with this once since I'm not sure I can handle it.

Besides, I still have those projects to do…


	42. Time's Up, The Battle Begins

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Two: Time's Up, The Battle Begins**

            Sango woke up when the bed she was leaning on shifted suddenly. She looked up and saw that Kagome was awake, and looking as healthy as ever. In fact, the cuts that she had had yesterday seemed to have all disappeared.

            "Kagome-chan?" she asked, wondering what the girl was looking around for.

            "Inuyasha?" Kagome called out, sounding slightly afraid.

            "Kagome-chan, are you alright?" Sango asked, wondering what was wrong with her friend.

            "Where's Inuyasha?" she asked, turning to her, her eyes filled with dread.

            "He's at the other hospital," she replied, Kagome's paranoia starting to affect her. "What's wrong?"

            "I have to get there," Kagome said, getting off the bed. "Where is it? Which hospital?"

            "But Kagome, your injuries…" Sango started as Kagome began taking the various tubes and needles out of her, then took the bandage around her waist off. There wasn't even a scar to show her encounter with the wind youkai yesterday.

            The door suddenly opened, and in walked Kagome's family. But Sango noticed that one in their number was missing.

            "Kagome, are you alright? What happened?" her mother asked worriedly. "We just got the message this morning. How are you feeling? Are you hurt?"

            "No, Mama," she said impatiently. "I'm fine."

            "Kagome, why is there a wave of youki around you?" asked her grandfather, frowning.

            "Kagome-chan was attacked yesterday by a youkai," Sango filled in for them.

            "Nee-chan, you're not hurt, are you?" asked Souta. Sango noticed that Shippou was missing.

            "I said I'm fine!" Kagome all but yelled. "I want to know where Inuyasha is!"

            "That's right, that spell," Mrs. Higurashi realized. "Are you feeling dizzy right now?"

            "No! And that's the problem!" Kagome said. "Why am I **not** feeling dizzy? Why do I feel fine?"

            "Did something happen to Inu-nii-chan?" asked Souta.

            "I don't know!" shouted Kagome. Suddenly, the door burst open and in walked Miroku.

            "Miroku!" Sango said in relief. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked in concern.

            "Don't worry, Sango, it was nothing," he reassured her. "It turns out that it was just a spell put on me by that idiot."

            "What? I thought he took the spell off," said Sango.

            "Yeah, well I found out this morning from his mother that Inuyasha didn't learn how to take spells off yet. He just knows how to replace a previously set spell with another one," Miroku said, shaking his head.

            "Did you see Inuyasha this morning?" asked Kagome anxiously.

            "Kagome? Shouldn't you be dizzy and stuff?" asked Miroku, wondering why she didn't seem to be ill at all.

            "No. Something's happened to Inuyasha," she said, holding her tears in.

            "Did you see him before you came here?" asked Sango.

            "No. I was going to visit him later," Miroku said. "He was poisoned by that wind youkai and so I was going to give this antidote to him," he said as he took out a small vial. "His grandfather has a lot of useful things."

            "Then why didn't you go to him first?" asked Sango, wondering where Miroku's common sense was.

            "Because I had to tell you where Shippou was!" he said, getting annoyed.

            "Where is Shippou?" asked Kagome, looking at the rest of her family.

            "He was chased by a youkai yesterday, which is why your entire family left with Sango's family to hopefully search for him," Miroku said. "But they were led astray by another youkai. Thankfully, no one was hurt."

            "But we still haven't found Shippou," Souta said.

            "He's safe, for now," Miroku said darkly. "He's hiding at Sesshoumaru's place."

            "Sesshoumaru?" asked Kagome, surprised.

            "Sesshoumaru may still be weak from what happened before, but his servants can do more than just defend his home," Miroku said. "They'll protect Shippou for now. Our main concern is how to defeat Naraku."

            "Shouldn't we go help Inuyasha first?" asked Sango. Suddenly the window in the room opened, and in hopped Inuyasha.

            "Inuyasha?" they all asked in unison.

            "What? Those stupid doctors wouldn't let me leave, so I just escaped through the window," he said, dusting himself off.

            "Why did you have to enter through the window?" asked Miroku, wondering why Inuyasha didn't just use the door.

            "Idiot. Naraku's people are down in the lobby," he said. They all looked at him in surprise. "It's true. Aki and some other people whom I've seen around Naraku before are all down there."

            "What does that mean?" asked Souta.

            "It means its time for me and the others to bust out of here," Inuyasha said. He took the sheet from the bed and threw it to Kagome. "Wrap that around yourself. It's cold outside, and we don't have time to wait for you to change."

            "What are we doing?" asked Kagome, doing as Inuyasha had instructed.

            "Your family will be safe. They don't know what they look like," Inuyasha said, opening the window wider. "Higurashi-san, please get your family into another room so that they don't suspect you," he said.

            "Wait a minute," said Miroku, his brain not moving fast enough to catch up to what was happening. "Aren't you supposed to be poisoned and knocked out and dizzy, and basically dying?"

            "Talk later," Inuyasha replied. "We're going out through the window."

            "I can't jump down from here!" said Sango. "None of us can!"

            "I'm carrying all of you down," Inuyasha said quickly. "Miroku, you're coming first."

            "Why me?" he asked, wondering what was down there that Inuyasha wanted him to suffer first.

            "I need you to defend them with your air rip if they should catch you guys while I'm carrying someone else," Inuyasha said impatiently. "Sango can better defend in closed spaces while you are better in open ones. I'm not going to let you suck everyone in the hospital into your air void."

            "Just go," said Sango, pushing Miroku. Inuyasha grabbed Miroku and quickly jumped out. A few minutes later, he reappeared again.

            "Kagome, on my back," he said, "Sango, you too." They both got on him quickly, and held on to him tightly as he jumped through the window. Sango saw the world around her in a blur, and a moment later, they landed on a roof next to Miroku.

            She looked over the edge of the building and saw a thin veil of black smoke covering everything. What was strange was that the people who were walking in the streets didn't seem to notice it at all, but whoever touched it seemed to become melancholy and irritated. Sango saw two boys near a street corner get into a fight for what seemed like no apparent reason. Fear and distrust was starting to reign in the people's hearts.

            "Our time's up," Miroku said. She was afraid of what that meant.

            He watched the small kitsune pup transform himself into different objects in hopes of "training" himself. He had to bite back a scornful remark at the child's antics. To him, winning something with the aid of the Shikon no Tama meant nothing at all. After all, it was only with power borrowed from a greater being that allowed the person to win. It meant that the person who used the power hadn't gained anything with their own strength. He had tried to explain that to the kitsune pup, but the child had just shrugged him off and said that he would do whatever it took to protect his friends. _Pitiful, _he thought.

            "Stop looking at me funny," the child said.

            "You will never gain anything as long as you continue to use the power of that shard to meet your needs," he said haughtily. 

            "I already told you that there's no other way for me to do anything!" the child shouted. The kitsune hung around his brother too much. He had to force himself not to cover his ears from the sound the child made. He would not seem so weak as to be unable to stand a child's voice, even though his sensitive ears were hurting. 

            "You should at least try to use your own strength," he said. Suddenly he heard the doorbell ring. He could smell that familiar scent of Inuyasha and his friends.

            "All right, where's Shippou?" Inuyasha's voice rang through the large house.

            "Inuyasha!" the child said, running to him. Sesshoumaru looked on coldly as the child hugged the one called Kagome.

            "Naraku has sent me a notice," Sesshoumaru said, looking straight at Inuyasha. There was something slightly different about him. It seemed like he felt more complete than before.

            "What is it?" he said. Sesshoumaru caught the slight hint of hostility in Inuyasha's voice, though his face did not show it.

            "He wishes to see you at the place where you met your end. Tonight," he said, feeling like a servant relaying a message between masters. But it couldn't be helped. His youki hadn't completely recovered yet.

            "That would be the current national park," Kagome said, starting to think. "How are we supposed to get there? Sango and my family are hiding from Naraku's henchmen, so who is going to bring us there?"

            Suddenly one of the servants showed up with a visitor. Sesshoumaru heard Kagome groan softly.

            "Higurashi? What are you doing here?" asked Hojo innocently. Sesshoumaru saw Inuyasha swallow a growl that did not go unnoticed by Kagome.

            "I should ask the same of you," she said, straining a smile.

            "Oh! Omori-sensei," he said, turning to Sesshoumaru. "Some man gave me this to give to you." He handed Sesshoumaru a note. He opened it, and as soon as he read it, he crumpled it.

            "Thank you, Hojo. You may go now," Sesshoumaru said, his voice welcoming no disobedience. Hojo waved at Kagome then left, leaving the group wondering what was so important about the note that it had needed Hojo to deliver it.

            "That stupid—I can't believe I didn't notice it before," Inuyasha grumbled.

            "What?" asked Kagome.

            "He smells like that wimpy wolf, Kouga," he answered.

            "Kouga?" asked Miroku, surprised. "But that would mean…"

            "That Kouga is dead," finished Sango. "That means Hojo is his reincarnation…"

            "What?!" asked Kagome. "How can Kouga be dead?"

            "It has to be Naraku," said Shippou.

            "If you do not defeat him tonight, all of your families will die," Sesshoumaru said to them suddenly. They turned to look at him, not quite sure if they had heard right. "The chain of events has started for a long time. It is time to finish it," he said, melting the note away with his toxic claw.

            "Sesshoumaru, could you please bring us there?" asked Kagome. He turned to her, his face calmly neutral. He didn't want them to go. They weren't near powerful enough to take on Naraku by themselves. Especially Inuyasha. He didn't even have his precious Tetsusaiga to aid him anymore.

            "You'll all die," he said without emotion.

            "We'll prove you wrong," said Inuyasha defiantly. He only raised an eyebrow at his former brother.

            "We leave at four. You have two hours to say your prayers," said Sesshoumaru as he exited the room. His brother was going to die again, and this time, he could do nothing to prevent it.

            "So what did happen?" asked Sango. They were seated in Sesshoumaru's living room, and were discussing the mystery behind the disappearance of the distance spell.

            "The link that was provided by the spell allowed me to transfer some of my youki to Kagome," said Inuyasha, "And that was how she became healed of her injuries."

            "And my purifying energy purified the poison that ran through your system, right?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha nodded.

            "But why did the spell disappear?" asked Shippou.

            "It's because it's a love spell," said Miroku. "They must have proclaimed their love to each other while they were each lying on their beds, which broke the spell. Isn't that right, Inuyasha? Kagome?" He looked at the two from the corner of his eyes.

            "No, Kagome never—" spluttered Inuyasha, while Kagome found the floor very interesting. Truth was, she was about to tell Inuyasha that she loved him, but she supposed that by that point, the spell already knew of their love, so was broken.

            "What about you, Miroku?" asked Kagome, trying to divert the attention. "Why was Sango worried about you?"

            "He came to save me!" said Shippou.

            "It seems that Inuyasha's spell allowed me to leave my body for awhile in order to help someone," Miroku said. "After you two went to the hospital, I heard someone calling out for me, and then my soul just left my body and wound up next to Shippou. I led him to Sesshoumaru's place. Then I just woke up," he concluded.

            "I thought Miroku was dead," said Shippou.

            "Does that spell still work?" asked Sango, wondering if Miroku was going to drop unconscious whenever someone needed his help.

            "No, it doesn't," he said. "My grandfather said that the youki that had surrounded me before has disappeared."

            The door to the living room opened, and in walked some of Sesshoumaru's servants with their weapons.

            "Sesshoumaru-sama requested us to give these to you," they said in a servile voice. They placed Hiraikotsu next to Sango, as well as the rest of her equipment. They placed the staff next to Miroku, as well as a new bow and arrows next to Kagome, and gave a slender sword to Inuyasha. Sango left the room to change.

            A few minutes later, she returned to the room. They looked at each other. They weren't ready yet, but they didn't have any time left to prepare.

            "Let's go," Sesshoumaru said, gesturing them to the car with a shake of his head.

            "Where's Jaken?" asked Kagome, surprised that the little toad wasn't there.

            "I've ordered him to protect your families," Sesshoumaru replied, turning the engine on. The others quickly got inside, and the drive to the forest began.

            The sun was beginning to set when Sesshoumaru finally stopped deep in the forest. He watched as they all got out of the car, their faces grim. He got out and looked at them. To him, they were just children, not ready to face an opponent such as this one, but he knew he couldn't stop them. He looked at Inuyasha and could feel the familiar ice on his heart as he looked at his former half brother. He was going to leave his brother on poor terms again. He would never be given the chance to speak with Musashino again.

            Surprisingly, it was Miroku who went first into the forest. Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha, who was fidgeting uncomfortably.

            "Your friends are leaving you behind," he said calmly, as if he didn't care what befell his brother.

            "Sesshoumaru…" Inuyasha said, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

            "Go defeat Naraku. Then come back and face me," Sesshoumaru said, his words laced with regret. Inuyasha looked up at him, and he seemed to understand something. He suddenly walked up to him and hugged him. Sesshoumaru was at a loss for words.

            "I'll come back and beat you, Onii-chan," he said, his voice muffled by Sesshoumaru's clothes. "I'll show you that your little brother has grown up, and you don't have to worry about him anymore."

            "Too bad he'll never grow up because he'll never be able to defeat me," Sesshoumaru replied, ruffling Inuyasha's hair.

            "Hey!" he said, pulling away and fixing his hair. As he did so, his raven dark hair transformed into pale, moonlight silver, and his ears twitched slightly on the top of his head. Sesshoumaru looked at him and knew that even in this life, Inuyasha was still a mix. He just hoped that Inuyasha could use both traits of his family to his advantage and defeat Naraku.

            "I'll defeat you yet, Onii-chan!" Inuyasha shouted, waving at Sesshoumaru as he followed his friends. Sesshoumaru didn't wave back. He didn't need to.

**Author's Notes:** Yay! A big battle is finally coming up. And see, Angel-flame? I didn't kill Inuyasha off…yet. 

Well, I haven't even cracked open my backpack yet, so I should probably get moving and do my homework. Grrr…

Till next time!


	43. Shikon no Tama

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Three: Shikon no Tama**

            Kagome smiled to herself as she saw the two brothers finally make up after years of conflict, but wondered if Inuyasha had truly found the peace and balance within himself. He seemed fine now, but her recent experiences had taught her better than to take things at face value.

            "Kagome, do you want your shard back now?" asked Shippou, looking at the shard that was still embedded in his hand. Kagome looked at the small child before her and shook her head. The shard would be more useful in his hands than hers, but she wondered if she should really let him keep the shard. Was he chased yesterday because of it? But weren't youkai unable to sense the Shikon shards anymore?

            "Ne, Shippou-chan, why did a youkai chase you yesterday?" she asked, the coming night starting to make her shiver. She wondered if she was shivering because of the cold, or because of fear.

            "He wanted this shard," Shippou said as if it were obvious.

            "But I thought that youkai can't sense it anymore," said Kagome, confused.

            "I can sense two separate pieces of the Shikon no Tama right now," Inuyasha said, "The one that Shippou has and another huge one somewhere before us." Kagome knew that he must have meant Naraku's portion of the Shikon no Tama.

            "The Shikon no Tama must have been cloaked from youkai's senses by that sealing spell that Inuyasha put on himself," Miroku said thoughtfully. "The spell was used to hide his memories, so maybe it hid the Shikon no Tama, too."

            "And since the Shikon shards are connected to each other, it must've hid all the other shards also," Sango said. "But there is no longer a spell that hides Inuyasha's memories, so the spell that hid the Shikon no Tama must have disappeared."__

_            That makes sense,_ Kagome thought. _But will I be putting Shippou-chan in danger by allowing him to keep the shard?_ She looked at the rest of the group, and was reminded of a time when they had also gone for their last battle. They had been defeated that time, so what made them think that they would win this time?__

_            I have to think positive,_ she tried to tell herself. _I can't keep thinking that everyone's going to die. _But there was this strange feeling in her mind as if she had forgotten something, or was missing something. She was still so unsure about everything. In essence, she had not changed at all since their last battle. She had not improved even one bit, and she wondered if any of the others had gained any special powers since their last encounter.

            She turned to look at Inuyasha. His silver hair seemed to shine in the darkness of the night, and she remembered how his hair had also shone that afternoon when he had met his end. She wanted to go and hug him, never letting him go, but she knew now was not the time. She could do that whenever she wanted after the battle was over. If the battle would ever be over. If they survived…

            She held the bow and arrows tighter in her hand. This time, she wouldn't miss. She would fire in the center of Naraku's heart and destroy him forever. She felt someone's eyes on her, and turned to Inuyasha, only to see him look the other way. In his hand, he held a common sword. Would they really be able to defeat Naraku without Tetsusaiga?

            "Kagome, keep your senses on alert and stop spacing out," Inuyasha's gruff voice said.

            "Ooh, Inuyasha, only telling Kagome to be careful," Shippou said in an annoying voice. "You really care for her, don't you?"

            "Shut up, brat!" Inuyasha said, bonking Shippou on his head. Shippou held the growing bump on his head carefully while grumbling and moving towards Miroku and Sango.__

_            It's just like last time,_ Kagome thought, as she remembered how Inuyasha had also hit Shippou in the same manner in what seemed like years ago. _Miroku and Sango are walking together again. Inuyasha is leading… The only one missing is Kirara, but we don't have time to get her now. Besides, she is protecting Sango's family._

            Kagome tried to suppress the feeling of unease that was growing within her. It was too late to turn back now. Their only option was to go forward. She should have no doubts. She should be confident of her mission. Then why, why was she feeling this atmosphere of disquiet that seemed to surround her?__

_            I don't feel complete… I don't feel ready,_ Kagome thought to herself. But she wouldn't let the others down. No matter what she felt, she would do her duty. But still, she felt that something was going to go wrong in this battle, and she was loath to discover what.

            She saw a clearing up ahead, lit up with strange lights, and shivered as she felt a wave of dark youki.

            "Welcome… To your end," the embodiment of evil laughed. 

And the battle began.

Shippou quickly scampered away as Aki shot her poisonous liquid at him. He could hear a clanging of swords as Inuyasha fought with Naraku, who was also using a sword as a way of mocking him. He ran beside Kagome as she shot an arrow with purifying light at Aki, causing the female youkai to quickly dodge away. Miroku and Sango were taking care of the other youkai that Naraku had brought with him, which had amounted to quite a sum.

"Shippou, watch out!" Inuyasha shouted as Shippou was about to be skewered by a youkai. Shippou turned around just in time to see a long needle shoot out from a porcupine youkai, and found himself unable to dodge the attack. He shut his eyes out of fear and heard a clang, then a terrible ringing sound. He opened his eyes a bit and found that Inuyasha had broken his sword in blocking the needle from reaching Shippou.

"You pitiful fool," laughed Naraku. "How are you to fight now that you don't even have a weapon?" Shippou heard Inuyasha growl and again felt himself to be nothing more than a burden upon his friends.

"I'll fight with this!" Inuyasha shouted as he dashed at Naraku. Shippou saw a flash in the night, and a moment later, he saw that Naraku's arm had been chopped off. He looked at Inuyasha and saw that he was holding a large sword that looked exactly like Tetsusaiga, the only difference being that part of it was still emerging from Inuyasha's arm.

"Isn't that what his grandfather did?" asked Sango to Kagome. Shippou saw Kagome nod, and remembered that Inuyasha was part sword youkai in this life.

"So, you have recreated Tetsusaiga," Naraku said scornfully. "But you will still be unable to defeat me." Suddenly, the arm that had been chopped off grew quickly and soon another Naraku was present in the battlefield. "You see I have absorbed the power from a sea star youkai long ago, and now, nothing can kill me."

"So that's how you survived from our last battle," Miroku said gravely.

"You poor simpleton," laughed Naraku. "The one you defeated was not I. It was the one whose arm I came from. The fool cut his own arm off as a safety precaution so that **if** you should have defeated him, at least there would still be another him in this world. He threw his arm into a cave and sealed it, knowing that if he won the battle against you, then he would be able to go back to the cave and destroy me.

"But he lost, and was killed. So for a century, I laid trapped in that cave until my power finally reached a point that exceeded **his** pitiful power. But he had failed in one aspect. He had not cut his arm clean enough so that when he threw his arm in, there became not one, but two of us. His failure to pay attention to such detail has caused me much trouble these past four hundred years."

"So the one we defeated, the one who tried to control Inuyasha…" said Kagome.

"That was the other one," Naraku said haughtily. "He believed that he could actually gain power by controlling others and using only brute force." He laughed. "I thank you for having rid me of that insolent scum. You see, **I** am the true ruler. **I** am the only one worthy of ruling this world."

"Shut up, you bastard, and prepare to taste steel!" shouted Inuyasha as he slashed at Naraku. Naraku only laughed as he evaded the attack and leapt away.

"You fools will never be able to defeat me. Even that prince of the wolf clan was killed by me," he said, showing the group two shards from the Shikon no Tama. He took the bigger piece that he had stolen from Kagome and put the three pieces together. The shards fused together, leaving only a tiny crack left.

"The only one left is the one in your friend," he said, looking at Shippou. Shippou gritted his teeth and refused to look afraid. "But I shall get that soon enough."

Suddenly, Shippou felt someone grab him from the back, and before he could do anything, the other Naraku ripped the shard out from his hand, leaving a gaping hole in his bloody hand.

"Shippou-chan!" Kagome screamed, running to him. Aki suddenly appeared before her and shot her poisonous acid at Kagome.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Watch your opponent," Naraku said, as he brought a long root-like tentacle to whip Inuyasha.

"Get away from me!" Kagome shouted as a wave of her hidden power suddenly burst forth and blew Aki back. Shippou ducked as he felt the searing heat pass over him. He looked up at Kagome and saw that she was glowing with a strange power that was quickly beginning to fade away.

"That girl…" Naraku said, narrowing his eyes. He moved to attack her, but Inuyasha stopped him.

"Oh no, you don't," Inuyasha said, as he swung Tetsusaiga down. "Kaze no Kizu!" Naraku was ripped to shreds, but there was still one left.

"Shippou-chan, are you all right?" asked Kagome in concern. Shippou flexed his hand and grinned.

"It's all healed," he said. "I guess my powers are getting stronger." Suddenly they heard Sango shout something, and they both turned to see Miroku surrounded by five youkai on different sides, all ready to slice him into pieces.

"Miroku!" Kagome gasped, but Shippou immediately ran to Miroku. He was surprised at how fast he was even without the Shikon shard. He got there just as the five youkai were about to move in for the kill.

"Kitsune-bi!" he shouted, as he let the fox fire flow around him, remembering to protect Miroku from it. He transformed himself and Miroku into foxes, and quickly ran back to Kagome. He hoped his fox fire had caused the youkai temporary confusion. Once back at Kagome, he transformed Miroku and himself back to their original forms.

"Shippou, you've gotten stronger…" Miroku said, looking at the pile of ashes that were the youkai.

And Shippou realized that he really wasn't that useless, and that he really did have the power to help his friends. He didn't need the Shikon no Tama anymore. Now, he finally had the power to protect himself and his friends.

"Good work, Shippou," Inuyasha said, as he leapt back to them, inspecting them all quickly before attacking Naraku again. Shippou only smiled. He could finally make his father proud. And, Inuyasha had finally praised him for something.

Sango could only sigh in relief when Shippou saved Miroku. She hadn't realized that Shippou was that strong, but she supposed that in these past few weeks of seeing everyone die before his eyes, Shippou had decided to train himself to be stronger. He had always had someone to protect him before, but now, it was the young youkai's turn to protect them.

"Hiraikotsu!" she shouted as she swung the massive boomerang at a nearby youkai. Miroku was safe, and for that, she was glad. She remembered how that fortuneteller had told her that Miroku's life was in someone else's hands, but she had never expected that it would be in Shippou's.

"Kaze no Kizu!" she heard someone shout and saw that Naraku's arm had been completely destroyed. She was a little disappointed when she saw that the arm grew back again. _At least there isn't another Naraku running around,_ she thought.

"All right, Aki, prepare to die for working for scum like Naraku," Sango said, catching her boomerang gracefully. The girl only narrowed her eyes at Sango as she quickly glanced at Naraku. It looked like Naraku was losing.

"I'm not risking my life for assholes like him," Aki said, moving out of her battle stance. "You can kill him if you want. I'm not going to stop you." Sango looked at her suspiciously. She knew that Naraku wasn't exactly the most pleasant person to be with, but was she betraying Naraku or was this just another one of their numerous schemes?

"Listen, kid," the youkai said impatiently. "I've hidden my heart somewhere. You leave me alone, and don't give chase, and I'll just run to Naraku's little hide out, get my heart, and you'll never hear of me again. As a bonus, I'll even withdraw all the youkai that are under my control," she said, pointing to some of the youkai that were presently attacking Kagome and the others. Sango looked at her, not quite sure if she could trust this one.

"Guys, we're out of here," Aki shouted suddenly. The youkai that were attacking Kagome and Shippou suddenly stopped and moved towards Aki. "I'll see ya later, kid," she said. "Keep up your end of the deal." Then she quickly disappeared into the night, leaving Sango slightly confused, but not surprised. Naraku had had something like this coming to him for a long time.

Kagome was relieved when the youkai attacking her were called back by Aki. She noted that Naraku looked flustered with Aki's betrayal, but felt no pity for him. Now, all they had to do was fight Naraku and a few of the youkai that were still hanging around. A lot of them had already run off.

"Say your prayers, Naraku," Inuyasha said, his sword glittering in the moonlight. Kagome's heart started to speed up as she felt that feeling of anxiety again.

"I don't think so," Naraku said darkly. Then he formed a familiar orb of light, but instead of shooting it at Kagome this time, he shot it at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as she saw that he couldn't dodge the orb of light fast enough. _You're going to pay, Naraku,_ she thought as she angrily notched an arrow into her bow. The arrowhead shone with intense light as she fired it. "Die, Naraku!"

The arrow seemed to leave a path of light as it aimed true for Naraku's heart. Everything seemed to slow down to her. Her arrow would destroy Naraku, she was sure of that. She could see the small sparks of light in the arrow's wake. Naraku turned to look at the arrow, but he turned oh so slowly.

"Wait!" he shouted. Everything flung back to its normal pace as she saw the arrow reach Naraku. _Wait? What do I have to wait for? Do you want me to wait so that you can use another one of your cruel plans? _she thought.

The arrow hit him and he was destroyed in a burst of light that lit up the night sky. The remaining youkai quickly ran for their lives, and Kagome saw the shiny jewel fall from where Naraku was to the ground. She turned to Inuyasha, who looked dazed, but other than that was all right.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, just to make sure. He managed a weak smile, and she smiled back at him. She walked slowly to where the Shikon no Tama laid. The jewel gave off a soft, pink light as she picked it up. It was unsoiled by Naraku's evil.

"We've completed the circle," she said, turning to the rest of the group. "We've defeated Naraku." She held the jewel in her hand, finally completed. But she noticed that there was a tiny crack in the surface of the jewel. _Was it damaged when I hit Naraku with that arrow?_ she thought. As she inspected the jewel more closely, she saw that the crack seemed to smooth out and disappear. She sighed, thankful that the jewel wasn't damaged.

She walked to her friends, the jewel glowing with its pure light in her hands. They all looked at the jewel, unsure of what to do with it. Kagome looked at Miroku, and saw that he had taken the prayer beads off his hands. The void in his hand was gone.

She looked at the Shikon no Tama and wondered what to do with it. Finally, she gave it to Inuyasha.

"Huh? What are you giving me this for?" he asked, holding the jewel in his hands.

"You were the one who was looking for it all those years ago," said Kagome. "And I think it's only fair if it is finally given to you."

"Are you sure?" he asked, playing around with the jewel. She nodded. "I... Thank you."

Then he swallowed the jewel.

Evil swarmed the land, and soon the earth was covered in darkness.

"Checkmate."

**Author's Note:** Heh heh… I've been wanting to write this chapter ever since I started this story. If I'm in a good mood, I _might _update soon. MWA HA HA!


	44. The Number of Death

**Author's Note: **Heh heh heh… Got most of you confused. Yes, my job is done.

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Four: The Number of Death**

            She looked at him, surprised that he would have done such a thing. What did it mean? Did he want to destroy the Shikon no Tama by absorbing it into his system? Is that why he swallowed it?

            "Inuyasha…?" she asked, looking at him. He had a foreign expression on his face.

            "Why did you…?" asked Sango, not finishing her sentence. Kagome felt a terrible amount of youki surrounding her. But it wasn't just around her; the youki seemed to be filling every possible crack and recess there was in the world.

            Suddenly, miasma appeared from seemingly nowhere, and Kagome saw herself and her friends become engulfed in its poisonous cloud. She tried to run out of the miasma, but the toxin seemed endless in the space that it occupied.

            "Inuyasha," she coughed, falling to the ground. "Help me…" She felt someone pulling her arm, and a moment later, she was lifted up and away from the cloud of poison.

            "Inuyasha?" she asked weakly, and lost consciousness.__

_            "Keeper of the Jewel… Hear my plea once more. Purge this world from the cursed jewel, and defeat the darkness that has swallowed this world."_

            Kagome looked around her and saw that she was in that same field of grass as before. But this time, there was no one there. The grass did not move and the wind did not blow. She looked at the sky and saw that it was gray with storm clouds, but the clouds were not moving either.__

_            "Time shall freeze in this stage if you do not aid us… Find the last three souls and bring them here…"_

            Kagome looked around for the source of the voice, but found none. Suddenly, she saw a woman next to her, but she couldn't see her face clearly, even though they were so close.__

_            "W-Who are you?"_ she stuttered, unsure if the woman before her was a friend or a foe.__

_            "You shall discover that soon enough,"_ she said in a soft voice that was laced with the experience of knowing many battles. _"It is not yet safe for me to tell you my identity, but rest assured, child. You will know as soon as you arrive here…"_

_            "Why can't you just tell me now?" _asked Kagome impatiently. She didn't like how this woman was being so mysterious.__

_            "The evil has entered this realm. No one who is not on my side may utter my name," _she said, her voice devoid of emotion. _"Please find your path here quickly. If you fail, then this world shall fall into darkness for I no longer have the power to fend off so great an evil."_

_            "Wait!" _Kagome shouted, but the woman disappeared from the field, and soon the young green grass that had covered the field turned brown with decay as the sky became filled with darkness. Kagome felt an ominous force approach from the side of darkness and felt a familiar presence emerge from the demons of shadows.

            "Naraku!" she gasped as she awoke. She looked around her and noticed that she was in a dark room. She peered through the darkness, trying to figure out where she was when the door opened suddenly, and a weak light filled the room from a lone candle.

            "You're awake. That's good," a familiar voice said.

            "Aki?" she asked in surprise. The girl sure sounded like that youkai.

            "What?" asked the girl gruffly as she moved closer and lit another candle that was next to Kagome's bed. The room was filled with slightly more light. "That's better. I hate the dark. Reminds me of that asshole…"

            "What are you doing here?" asked Kagome, surprised that the youkai wasn't attacking her.

            "What does it look like I'm doing?" she said, her maroon eyes glowing slightly in the dark as she looked outside the window as a predator does to a prey.

            "I don't understand," said Kagome as she too looked outside the window, only to find more darkness.

            "I cured you all from Naraku's miasma," she said simply. "Let's go. The others are waiting in the training room." She walked out of the room, not waiting for Kagome. Kagome quickly took the candle by her bedside and followed this mysterious youkai. _Why did she help us? _she thought, _I thought that she was our enemy._

            They entered a room that was lit by dim candles, and Kagome noticed that both her and Sango's family were all there.

            "Kagome," her mother said, sounding relieved. "I'm glad you're all right."

            "Please, sit down," Mr. Hayashi said, sounding immensely tired. Kagome sat between her mother and Sango, trying not to look too suspiciously at Aki.

            "Now that all of us are here, do you care to explain what happened, Aki?" Mr. Hayashi said. Kagome looked at the old man and wondered why he was willing to trust this person who would not have hesitated to kill his grandson.

            "What is there to explain?" she asked, not bothering to sit down. "Your people fought Naraku, and they lost."

            "What do you mean we lost?" Miroku asked angrily. "Kagome hit Naraku with her arrow. Nothing remains of him."

            "That's what you think," she said, shaking her head as if she were talking to children. "You didn't destroy Naraku at all."

            "Then what happened?" asked Sango impatiently. "And where's Inuyasha?"

            "What do you think happened?" asked Aki, equally impatient. "You failed to kill Naraku, and now Inuyasha is dead."

            "What do you mean he's dead?" asked Kagome anxiously. She saw Kirara's ear twitch at the pitch of her voice.

            "Humans really are stupid," she said, rubbing her forehead as if she was having a headache.

            "If we're so stupid, then why did you help us?" asked Miroku, anger and irritation getting the best of him.

            "Use your head for once," she said. "I betrayed Naraku when I left the battle. Do you think he will leave me unscathed once he takes over this world?"

            "But I shot Naraku," Kagome said, her voice shaking with uncertainty. Had she really destroyed Naraku?

            "How many times do I have to tell you?" Aki all but shouted. "The one you shot was Inuyasha, not Naraku."

            "What?" they all asked.

            "You never said that," Shippou said, not quite sure if he should believe her words.

            "I told you Naraku isn't dead yet," she said, sighing at their confusion. "He probably switched minds with Inuyasha at the last minute so that their bodies exchanged souls. The body that you killed was Naraku's, but the soul that you destroyed was most likely Inuyasha's."

            "But that's impossible," Miroku said, already starting to believe this former enemy of his.

            "Naraku used this trick on you once, remember?" she asked, sounding slightly less impatient. "With that idiotic electric eel? Do you remember if that youkai seemed to change during the battle?"

            Kagome remembered how the youkai's face had suddenly changed during the last few minutes of the battle. _The way he had smiled… I thought that it looked familiar,_ she thought.

            "Naraku has also done the same thing to me once," Aki said in a softer voice that was laced with anger.

            "So…" Miroku said, afraid to finish his sentence.

            "I killed Inuyasha," Kagome said quietly. _I killed him. Even when he had said, "wait." But how was I to know? How was I supposed to know that it was Inuyasha?_ she thought angrily. _But I really did kill him, didn't I? And to think that I had promised myself that I would do anything to protect him, even give my life for him, only to kill him in the end. What irony this is._

            She looked outside a nearby window as the entire room quieted down, afraid to disturb her. _I destroyed the one I love. _She felt a bitter smile tug at her lips. _I really am Kikyo. I really am like my incarnation._

            "Kagome-chan, are you all right?" asked Sango cautiously.

            "Of course I am," she said, turning back to the people in the room. She smiled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

            "Kagome, you can't blame yourself," Miroku said, trying to comfort her. "You didn't know."

            "I know," she said, her false serenity becoming irritation. "I know I couldn't have stopped it. I know that there was nothing that could've been done to prevent it."

            "Good… Good, then," Miroku said, not quite sure what to say next.

            "Aki, you told us earlier that you carried us here and healed us because you want us to go against Naraku, right?" asked Sango, trying to change the subject.

            "Basically, yeah," said the sea star youkai.

            "So that means that Naraku is still somewhere near, right?" asked Sango.

            "I don't know if you can say that, but yeah," said Aki. Everyone looked at her, wondering what she meant. "Look, Naraku wanted the Shikon no Tama so that it would make taking over this world that much easier. And he wanted to accomplish this by poisoning the jewel with his evil."

            "But Inu—I mean, Naraku ate the jewel," said Miroku. "Is his stomach acid so poisonous that he can corrupt the jewel that way?"

            "That doesn't make sense because it's Inuyasha's body, not his," said Sango, glancing nervously at Kagome.

            "He's going in the jewel," Aki said suddenly. "It's the only way."

            "What?" asked Sango. "What do you mean?"

            "If he pollutes the jewel from the inside, it will be difficult for an outside force like the miko to purify it," she said. "He ate the jewel because by doing so, he is given the chance to enter the realm of the Shikon no Tama."

            "What?" Miroku and Sango asked, dumbfounded.

            "Please explain yourself," Mr. Hayashi said.

            "When you have the complete Shikon no Tama, you have several choices," she started. "One is to make a wish. A pure wish destroys the jewel, but an evil one allows it to survive. Another choice is to swallow it so that you absorb the jewel's power. If the absorption is successful, then the jewel will be gone. The last choice is one that not many people know about because, frankly, they just don't care. The last one is to swallow the jewel, but instead of absorbing its power, you become part of the jewel so that you have the option to enter the Shikon no Tama.

            "I'm sure you people know of the jewel's origin," Aki continued. "And that the jewel was created from a woman's heart. When you become part of the jewel, it's like entering your own heart. That's why Naraku swallowed the jewel. So that he could enter the Shikon no Tama, wipe out all the good forces there, fill it with his evil, which would reflect on this world, and then he would be the ruler of all creatures."

            "So all this darkness and youki that's flowing around…" Sango said.

            "That would be a reflection of what's happening inside the Shikon no Tama," Aki completed for her. Everyone fell silent, thinking on this new fact.

            Suddenly, Kagome spoke, "How do we get there?"

            "I don't know," Aki replied, "But I know there is a way."

            "And just how do you know that?" asked Miroku.

            "The person who created the jewel did it by doing something with four souls, right?" asked Aki. Kagome remembered her dream, and how that woman asked her to bring three other souls to her. "Well, if we could just find this four soul thing, then maybe we can enter that Shikon no Tama."

            "The fortuneteller!" Sango said suddenly. She pulled out a chain around her neck and revealed a small rectangular block with four different colored flowers in it. "She gave me this! She said that when the time came, I would know what do to with it."

            "The fortuneteller?" asked Kagome skeptically. The fortuneteller had not helped her at all. Why hadn't she predicted what she was going to do to her friend? __

_"The illusion of your enemy may turn out to be your greatest friend."_ Why hadn't she remembered? _The illusion of my enemy… That would be Naraku, or should I say, Inuyasha? He looked like Naraku, but he was Inuyasha…_

            "Everything the fortuneteller told me is coming true!" she said. "She said that Miroku was going to be in danger, but I wasn't going to be able to save him. And guess what? I didn't save him! Shippou did!"

            Kagome looked at her friend, slightly afraid. It was true. Everything that the fortuneteller had told her had somehow come true.

            "Then she said that there would be a battle, but that we would lose it," Sango said. "That came true too!"

            "She told me that something was supposed to help us," Kagome said quietly, trying to remember the exact words that the fortuneteller had told her. "Something about a heart and a priestess, or a lady, or something."

            "She told me something about a lady, too," Sango said, looking at her friend. "She told me to wait for the Lady of the Souls. And she told me that we **had** to win in the land of dreams."

            "What's the land of dreams?" asked Miroku.

            "It's her…" Kagome gasped, suddenly realizing what it all meant. "I've been having this dream," she said to her friends quickly. "This woman, she keeps on telling me to find three souls or something. And there was this battle between the dark and the light. And it looked like Kirara was there."

            "Then you must've been dreaming of being inside the Shikon no Tama," Aki said. "You must have seen yourself fighting against Naraku in the dream."

            "No…" said Kagome, remembering how she could not see any of the people's faces in the dream.

            "Three souls?" asked Miroku. "You mean four."

            "Maybe," Kagome said, remembering how Inuyasha was gone. But the Shikon no Tama did have something to do with the number four. But what was it that the lady had said? Something about the Last Soul?

            "Look at this!" Sango said, taking the strange pendant off her necklace and showing them. "There are four small flowers intertwined in it. The fortuneteller had also said that my destiny was hard to read because of how closely knit my fate was to three others."

            "Is this some sort of key?" asked Miroku, looking at it closely.

            "It is composed of the four flowers that bloomed together on the land where all four of you were destroyed," an old, familiar voice said.

            "Myouga-jii-chan?!" asked Kagome in surprise.

            "Yes," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "It was very difficult to come here," he said breathing hard.

            "Why didn't you come here earlier?" asked Sango, wondering if it really took the flea five hundred or so years to come to the Hayashi residence.

            "Ah… That is, never mind," the flea said quickly. "Anyway, those four flowers symbolize your four souls," he said. "By the way, where is Inuyasha-sama?"

            The people in the room fell silent. Kagome looked away, wondering how Inuyasha would have felt about everything that was unraveling before their eyes had he been alive.

            "Inu-nii-chan is dead," Souta said.

            "It's your bedtime," Mrs. Higurashi said suddenly, guiding the child out of the room. "Good luck, Kagome," she said. She looked like she wanted to say more, but restrained herself and left the room. She was followed by Sango's family.

            "I'm not sure what's going on, but you better return safely," said Mrs. Yamata, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Come, Kohaku," she said, also taking the child out. Things were going to get more serious than the children could probably handle soon.

            "So, he's already gone…" the flea said, looking worried. "How is everything going to work if he's not here?"

            "What do you mean?" asked Sango.

            "You three, along with Inuyasha are the four souls that are to enter the Shikon no Tama because of what you represent," Myouga said. "How are you to defeat Naraku if not all of you are present?"

            "Hurry up," Aki said suddenly.

            "Why?" asked Miroku, still not trusting the youkai fully.

            "I have this strange feeling that Naraku's about to say 'checkmate' pretty soon," she said. "I'm outta here," she said, getting up. "Whatever you choose is your decision. I'm not going to stick around if you fail." She walked out of the room quickly, disappearing into the darkness.

            Kirara nudged her head against Sango's pendant. Sango looked at Kirara, confused, but gave the pendant to the cat. Kirara carefully placed the four flowers on the ground and with one tiny, elegant claw, pierced through the surface of the sap-like jewel. Suddenly, a hole filled with light appeared in the middle of the room, right above the four flowers, that were each glowing with their own special light.

            "What…?" asked Sango. Kirara quickly jumped in. "Kirara!" Sango called out, then followed her pet into the strange opening. Miroku went in after her.

            "Be careful, Kagome," the tiny flea said.

            "What about me?" asked Shippou feeling left out. He wasn't one of the four souls that were mentioned.

            "Just guard this door until we come back, okay?" asked Kagome, trying her hardest to smile. Shippou nodded, feeling afraid.__

_            "Find the Last Soul…"_

            Kagome jumped in, still wondering what the mysterious woman had meant.

            She landed among her friends and a transformed Kirara. She looked around. Things were exactly as they were in her dream. The wind wasn't blowing, the grass wasn't moving, and the clouds had stopped in the sky. She suddenly heard a whisper of a sound as someone approached them.

            "Kirara, my dear friend," the woman said as she petted the large cat fondly. She turned to look at the others, and smiled, though her smile seemed to be lined with years of hard battle.

            "You're that lady," Kagome said, seeing her face clearly for the first time. Her face looked awfully familiar.

            "Yes. I am the Lady of the Souls, Midoriko," she said, bowing slightly.

            "Midoriko?" asked Sango, not quite surprised.

            "I am glad that you have come to aid us," she said. "I was afraid that you would never come."

            "You've been fighting Naraku all by yourself?" asked Miroku.

            "Not by myself," she said. "There is one who aids me." She looked over them again and frowned.

            "Where is the missing Soul?" she asked.

            "Oh… He's…" said Sango, not quite sure how to say it.

            "He's been killed," Kagome said bluntly.

            "How can that be?" asked Midoriko, surprised. Then she sighed. "I should have paid more attention and called his soul here as soon as he was destroyed. I suppose that I can try to defeat the evil with just your help." She gestured with her hand. "Come," she said, Kirara walking next to her.

            Kagome followed her, wondering why a powerful priestess like Midoriko would ever need anyone's help, especially the help of herself and her friends. They didn't even have enough power to defeat Naraku. How were they supposed to fight the evil in the Shikon no Tama?

            "There are only four of you," Midoriko said suddenly. "One is missing."

            Kagome tried to puzzle out what she was saying.

            "This battle may not turn out well," she continued. "Four is the number of death. I know this well. I ended up trapped here because I had failed to realize this. I contended only with the four forces, and did not bother myself with the last." She turned to them again, her eyes sad. "You may not survive. Are you sure you wish to continue?"

            "What will happen if we don't?" asked Miroku.

            "I will continue to try my best to fight the forces of darkness," she said, looking at the gray sky. "I have the help of one now, and together, we can keep ourselves from getting annihilated long enough until the last soul is reborn."

            "Will that be long?" asked Sango, the evil flowing around this realm giving her the creeps.

            "It may or may not be long," she answered. "It depends on when that soul will be reborn."

            "What if one of us dies before the soul is reborn?" asked Miroku.

            "I will call your soul here so that we do not have to wait until all souls exist in the same time frame," she said. "Do you still wish to continue? It may mean your deaths," she said after a brief pause. "You are not yet dead, and so one death in this realm will be death in your world."

            "What about you?" asked Kagome. "If we don't help you, won't you die as well?" 

            "They can kill me, but I will still be here," she said. "They must destroy me utterly to pull me out of this realm. It is different for me."

            Kagome looked at the stormy sky and wondered if she was ready to die. _Inuyasha… Where are you? _Maybe she wanted to die? Maybe she wanted to die so that she could join him?

            "What are we going to do, Kagome?" asked Miroku, looking at her carefully.

            "I can't decide," she said, knowing that her actions were going to be shaded with Inuyasha's death.

            "We're going to be entering a losing battle," Sango said, seeing an area of darkness some ways away. The wave of darkness seemed to be moving closer. She frowned. The darkness **was** moving closer.

            "Midoriko-sama, they're attacking again!" someone shouted suddenly, appearing at the top of a hill. A beam of light from a crack in the storm clouds shrouded the person from view.

            "With only four souls, we will surely lose," Midoriko said, readying herself for battle.

            "Screw the old superstitions," the person said, jumping down next to Midoriko.

            Kagome could only look at the person in surprise. How could **he** be here?

            "You—You're…" she gasped, choking on her words. He grinned.

            "Can't get rid of me **that** easily," he smiled. Kagome could only look at him in shock.

            Her mind was made up. She would stay in this realm, no matter what.

**Author's Note:** Ugh… I hope this chapter clarified some things, but I could be wrong. I don't know, but my head is spinning from trying to get everything to make sense and making all the connections. I had to keep finding the different chapters where I mentioned certain things (what a bother).

Oh yeah, for those of you that don't know, four, in Chinese culture, means death. I think it has something to do with it sounding like the word death or something.

And Spectrum… … …

You very smart to have guessed right. ^_^


	45. The Last Soul

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Five: The Last Soul**

            She watched the arrow fly swiftly into the heart of darkness, purifying and destroying all evil that came in contact with it. She quickly notched another arrow into her bow and let that arrow fly, too. By this time, she was immune to the screams of pain and fury that arose from those that she was battling.

            "Kagome, behind you!" Inuyasha shouted quickly. She turned around and fired another arrow. She didn't really need to aim since the entire land was swarming with the forces of the dark, with Naraku behind them all.

            "Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted, unleashing the power in the newly formed Tetsusaiga. She was glad that Inuyasha was here, fighting alongside her, even if he would only exist in this realm. It was better than him being lost to her for another lifetime.

            She fired another arrow into a hoard of youkai that were surrounding Miroku. Without his air rip, Miroku had lost the ability to annihilate groups of youkai at a time. But he still killed many with his staff, his face calm as always, never betraying what emotions he felt as he fought this losing battle.__

_            If they die, it's my fault,_ thought Kagome as she fired another arrow at a group who was trying to attack Midoriko from the back. _I decided to stay, and like the friends that they are, they decided to stay with me._ She looked at Sango, swinging Hiraikotsu with all her might. Sango and Miroku didn't have to stay. They could have left and lived their life out together. But they didn't leave. They stayed, just because she wanted to stay in this realm, by the side of her Inuyasha.

            Finally, Naraku's army retreated for the time being. Kagome sat down where she was, breathing hard. She was soon joined by Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku.

            "How long will we have to fight like this?" asked Miroku, sweat trickling down his brow.

            "Until the dead soul is reborn," Midoriko said, walking slowly to them. She didn't seem tired at all.

            "But Inuyasha is already here," Kagome said. Wasn't Inuyasha the last soul that Midoriko was talking about? The missing soul, the one who had died?

            "With Inuyasha, there will still only be four of you," Midoriko said, not understanding what Kagome was speaking of. "One soul is missing."

            "Huh?" asked Sango.

            "There seems to be some misunderstanding," Miroku said. "We thought you were talking about the missing soul being Inuyasha."

            "No, no," the ancient priestess replied. "I speak of the Last Soul. The fifth, the Soul of Life."

            "What?" asked Sango and Kagome, not understanding her at all.

            "Us four represent the first four souls," Inuyasha explained. "Courage, friendship, wisdom, and love."

            "And there is one last soul representing life?" asked Miroku.

            "Yes. A soul is composed of courage, friendship, wisdom, and love, but it also contains life," Midoriko said. "That was the last element that I failed to realize, which has cost me my own life."

            "Wait a minute," Sango said, suddenly realizing something. "If the Last Soul isn't dead, then that means that we still have a chance to find the person."

            "If you wish, I can send you out of here to seek the Last Soul," she said.

            "How will we know if he or she is the Last Soul?" asked Kagome, not really wanting to leave Inuyasha's side.

            "He should be your friend, someone close to you who has borne the same troubles that you have borne," she said, her image starting to become blurry. The immense evil in the land was starting to weaken her power.

            "Just go before she doesn't have the energy to send you anymore," Inuyasha said, his tone clearly voicing that he wanted them to leave before it was too late and they were trapped in this land of eternal battle.

            "But Inuyasha…" Kagome started, but not knowing how to voice her feelings.

            "What if we can't return?" asked Sango, saying what her friend was afraid to say.

            "You'll find a way," he replied. Kagome looked away from him, surveying the darkened earth of this soon lifeless plain. "Kagome, c'mon," he said gently. She didn't want to look at him, for fear of him seeing the tears that were so quickly gathering in her eyes.

            Inuyasha stood up from his crouched position and helped Kagome up. He led her a little ways from the group, his touch feeling so solid that Kagome had trouble believing that he was truly dead.

            "Hey, hey. Don't cry," he said, wiping the tears off her face gently. "Everything will be all right."

            "How can it be all right if you're dead?" she asked, biting her lip to keep from crying.

            "My body is still alive," he said. "If, no, **when** we defeat Naraku, I'll just pop back into my body and everything is going to be okay again."

            She looked at him, wondering if he was just lying to make her feel better. But there was no deceit in his eyes.

            "Is… Is this true?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

            "Of course it is!" he grinned. "So don't worry about anything, okay? And don't cry. I don't like to see you cry."

            Kagome smiled weakly, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

            "That's better," he said. Then he smiled genuinely. "You look much prettier when you're smiling." He squeezed her hand gently, then led her back to the group.

            "Let's go," Kagome said, her voice unwavering. "Let's find that last soul." Midoriko nodded, and with a slight gesture from her hand, sent them through the portal back into their own world.

            Shippou paced around the gate of light worriedly. It had already been several hours since they had gone in. Had something happened to them?

            "Ahhhhh! They were probably defeated!" Shippou said despairingly, pounding his head. "I should have followed them!"

            Suddenly, three figures emerged from the door of the four flowers. Shippou looked at them, trying to figure out if they were Kagome, Sango, and Miroku.

            "Shippou-chan!" Kagome said, seeing the small kitsune trying to see beyond the blinding light of the gate.

            "Kagome!" he said, running to her. "I was worried!"

            "Don't worry, Shippou-chan. I'm okay," she said, hugging the small boy.

            "Hey, Miroku, do you think…?" asked Sango, nudging Miroku in the ribs.

            "Could be," he said, trying to think of anyone else that would be a possible candidate for the Last Soul.

            "Did you already defeat Naraku?" asked Shippou.

            "No, not yet," Kagome said, putting the child on the floor. "We're looking for someone's help."

            "I'll help!" Shippou volunteered eagerly. He didn't want to be left out again.

            "But Shippou-chan," said Kagome, not really wanting him to be in danger.

            "Kagome-chan, I think Shippou is the Last Soul that Midoriko was talking about," said Sango. Kagome was about the protest when she started to think. Shippou **had** been with them throughout their adventures, and he **did** bear the same troubles that they had to. Why didn't she notice it before? Why didn't she realize that Shippou was the Last Soul?

            "What's a Last Soul?" asked Shippou, curious.

            "I'll explain when we get inside," said Miroku, jumping into the door again.

            "Come on," said Sango as she jumped in after Miroku. Shippou followed her quickly, not wanting to be left behind. Kagome went in after Shippou, wondering what would happen now that they had the last soul.

            "Here they come," said Midoriko as she readied three arrows in her bow. "With the complete soul, we should be able to overcome this darkness." She watched out of the corner of her eye as she saw the others get ready. They were all very brave, and she hoped that with their courage, friendship, wisdom and love for each other, they would be able to overcome death and breathe life into this barren world.

            "Ready?" she asked.

            "Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha shouted as he let the devastating attack wipe out a portion of the dark army.

            "Fire!" Midoriko shouted as she let her three arrows fly through the air, each hitting their mark. She saw the girl, Kagome, fire suddenly with deadly accuracy.

            Soon, arrows were obsolete, and they had to resort to hand to hand combat. She saw Kagome take a sword from Inuyasha and power it with her miko powers to fight the youkai that were quickly descending upon them all.

            "So we meet again, Midoriko," a dragon demon breathed, laughing maniacally. "I never would have thought that you would send for outside help. If I'd known, I would've sent someone to curse your resting place."

            "But you didn't," she said, bringing her sword around quickly and stabbing the demon in the eye. He roared terribly and proceeded to kill her as he had done so many centuries ago, when he suddenly felt his body being ripped to shreds.

            "Feh! Weakling," Inuyasha said, swinging Tetsusaiga to clean it of the youkai's blood.

            "We have to hurry," she said. "The youkai will all return again if we don't."

            "I know, I know," Inuyasha said. "They can't die, just like you." She was glad he caught on to her entire situation so quickly.

            "Inuyasha, come quickly!" Miroku said suddenly. "You have to help Kagome!"

            "What?!" asked Inuyasha, running to the direction that Miroku was pointing. Miroku stood there, looking after Inuyasha.

            "Are you not going to help him?" asked Midoriko, aware that the youkai were suddenly not attacking her and were all heading towards Inuyasha's direction.

            "Now why would I do that?" he asked, turning to face her slowly. She gasped as he suddenly attacked her. Then she brought her sword around and sliced him in half.

            "H-How could you do that to your own people?" he asked, as the wooden core within him snapped.

            "I have been betrayed more than once," she said softly as the puppet fell, destroyed. She hoped that the others would not be so easily fooled by appearances.

            Inuyasha ran quickly to the place that Miroku had pointed, but he couldn't see Kagome anywhere. Hoards of youkai were flooding the scene, and he already had trouble fighting them off, much less look for Kagome.

            "Oi, Miroku, where's—" he asked, then noticed that Miroku wasn't there. "Damn it! Must've lost him somewhere…" He searched through the crowd while trying to fight, but without success. _I can't find anyone… Maybe they aren't even here anymore. _He tried his senses to find his friends, but could find no one that way. _I guess I'm the only one here. _He readied his sword and jumped above the rest of the youkai.

            "Kaze no Kizu!" he shouted as he let the devastating blow wipe out the youkai in the surrounding area. _Okay, I hope that everyone else is okay, wherever they are._ He was about to head back towards Midoriko's direction when a root-like projection emerged from the ground and grabbed his leg.

            "What the—!" he said as he yanked his leg away from the binding, only to step backwards into more of the strange root-like tentacles, which quickly surrounded and bound him.

            "What do you fear?" a woman's voice asked, appearing from behind a curtain of thin, young roots. She was a tree demon, her skin white, but hard, her hair green and thick. Her amber eyes revealed that she was more than just a tree-youkai, and as her eyes locked on to Inuyasha's, he felt his body become paralyzed.

            "What do you fear?" she asked again. "To die? To be alone? Or to be forgotten? Rejected…?" Inuyasha tried to fight against his bonds, but he still couldn't move. _If only I can move my body, _he thought, trying to force his body to move. _Damn it. What did that girl do to me?_ She approached him slowly, her eyes never leaving his. She raised one finger, her long nail touching his forehead.

            "I'll tie you to your nightmares."

            And he lost sight of the true world.

            Miroku fought the youkai quickly, knowing that he couldn't afford to be slow. His staff seemed to be moving by itself and he lost count of how many that he had killed. He had tried to reunite with his friends during battle, but couldn't find them, so in the end he just gave up and fought his own battle. He hoped that Sango was okay, but knew that she had enough power to take care of herself.

            He sliced another youkai in half, feeling that something was amiss. Earlier, he had felt a tiny prick on his head, as if someone was bored enough to pluck a hair out, and wondered if it had any significance. What if Naraku really had plucked his hair and was now using a puppet to deceive his friends? His face was grim as he made quick work of two other youkai, all the while his anxiety growing stronger.

            "You would be the one who represents wisdom, would you not?" a female voice asked. He turned to her and noticed from the corner of his eye that the other youkai had withdrawn. _This youkai must be pretty important then, _he thought, trying to find her weakness. Her eyes were shockingly blue, almost unreal in its intensity. There was a mind behind those eyes, and Miroku was afraid to learn just how powerful her mind was.

            She brushed her dark her carelessly away from her face, seemingly nonchalant about what she was going to do or who was standing before her.

            "To whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking to?" Miroku asked, bowing slightly. Youkai or no, she was definitely beautiful. But he didn't care about her. All he wanted was to get the whole thing over with and go back with Sango.

            "Just think of me as an assistant of Naraku-sama," she said, her voice melodious and smooth, almost entrancing.

            "Naraku?" Miroku asked, appearing pleasantly surprised. They both knew it was an act.

            "He has spoken to us of you four and the traits you represent," she said, neither walking closer nor walking farther away.

            "And he thinks me to be wisdom?" he asked, sounding flattered. She shrugged, uncaring. But his mind was racing. Naraku knew of what they represented. What else did he know? What was he planning?

            "Let us test the boundaries of your mind," she said, the scenery around her changing, morphing into one with four walls of darkness surrounding a dirt field, the storm clouds moving quickly ahead, blocking out the sunlight while no wind blew. It was eerily quiet.

            "How does your mind bend, Houshi-sama?" she asked. "How does it think?" She looked at the four walls surrounding them. "You're trapped, Houshi-sama. Trapped. Trapped until you can defeat me," she said, rising off the ground and sitting on a dark cloud.

            "Very well. I shall defeat you," Miroku said, knowing that this was all a distraction. Something was up, and Naraku didn't want him to figure it out before it was too late.

            "Defeat me with your mind, Houshi-sama," she said. "Guess the flaw of this world of mine, Houshi-sama. And while you do, answer my riddles. For every riddle you answer, you come closer to defeating me."

            "So to Naraku, you are expendable," Miroku said, hoping that this youkai would release him without wasting too much of his time. She smiled at him, already knowing what he had said to be fact.

            "You are smart, but are you wise?" she asked. "Let us begin."


	46. Awaken the Souls

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Six: Awaken the Souls**

            Sango threw Hiraikotsu, fear and despair starting to get to her. She had been separated from the others, and she was starting to become afraid. What if they never defeated Naraku? What if they all died again?

            A youkai attacked her while Hiraikotsu was still sailing through the air, so she quickly took her small sword out and slashed at the youkai, leaping away as another took its place. She sheathed the sword and caught the giant boomerang, wondering how the others were doing.

            She saw a group of youkai attacking something small, and quickly rushed to the scene. _What if it's Shippou? Or Kagome? Oh, please be all right,_ she prayed, throwing her boomerang at the youkai. Several had their heads severed by the weapon, but others charged at her, hoping to kill her. She grabbed Hiraikotsu and started to swing it as a massive sword. She cleared the youkai away and looked at the person that the youkai were attacking, only to find a small youkai child there with tears in her eyes. The youkai seemed harmless.

            "Are you all right?" Sango asked, not quite sure if she should trust this seemingly innocent youkai. The child nodded, starting to smile a little. "Why were they attacking you?" she asked, knowing that the answer the child gave would most likely determine if the child would live or die.

            But the child didn't answer at all, and only smiled at Sango as if she didn't understand.

            "Are you lost?" asked Sango, knowing that the youkai must have been trapped in this realm for several years, and was probably not lost at all. She held Hiraikotsu at her side, ready to swing it at the child if she had to. She walked a little closer to the child.

            The child backed up, as if she were afraid of contact. Sango softened a little. Were the youkai always beating this child up?

            "Where are your parents?" Sango asked, using a tone she usually reserved for small kids she saw wandering around at the supermarket.

            The child pointed up, still not speaking. Sango wondered if this youkai had been caught in the crossfire between Midoriko and the other youkai, getting pulled into this world for no reason other than an accident.

            She walked up to the child and held her hand, smiling. _The least I can do for this poor thing is to be nice, _she thought. The child looked up at her, surprised, then smiled again. Then the youkai child disappeared.

            "Huh?" asked Sango, looking around her, wondering if it had all been a trick. "Where did she go?"

            "You've defeated her," Midoriko said in astonishment.

            "Who?" asked Sango, still looking for the child.

            "I have never been able to defeat that particular youkai," the lady said as she walked closer to Sango. "Arrows or swords have no effect on her, yet you were able to defeat her."

            "How?" asked Sango, frowning. She hadn't wanted to defeat the youkai.

            "You…were being a friend to that child," Midoriko said, starting to understand. "She's always been alone. Every time I saw her, she was by herself. Yet you walked close to her and became her friend."

            "Being a friend defeats youkai?" asked Sango skeptically. Suddenly, several youkai surrounding her vanished. She looked around the battlefield and saw youkai disappearing everywhere. When it finally stopped, it looked like one-fifth of the dark army had vanished.

            "What happened?" asked Sango, looking around her in confusion.

            "It seems that the awakening of Friendship has caused some of the youkai to be purified," Midoriko said.

            "What does that mean?" asked Sango, the explanation not helping at all.

            "If all five parts of the Complete Soul is expressed, then this world will be purified as it was supposed to so many years ago," Midoriko said, hope appearing in her eyes for the first time. "Your friends must express the part of the soul that they represent," she said, looking at Sango. "And when they do, it'll all be over. I'll finally be free of here…"

            Sango looked at Midoriko, catching the note of wistfulness in her voice and realized how terrible it must have been to be trapped so long in a world with nothing but battle.

            She wasn't going to let the Lady suffer any more. And she wasn't going to let her friends fight here forever.

            She set off to a random direction, hoping to run into one of her friends and help them awaken their part. She hoped that the battle would soon be over.

            He was walking in a forest that felt vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where it was. He couldn't remember what he had been doing before or where he was. Something just kept telling him to go forward, something that felt foreign, but he listened to it anyway because there was nothing else to do.

            He finally arrived at a small clearing and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw someone dressed in familiar dark blue monk robes.

            "Miroku!" he called out, walking towards him. He needed to find out where he was and what had he been doing before. He knew that whatever he had been doing was important, but he just didn't know what it was. Finally there was someone who might know what he had been doing. After all, Miroku usually had a lot of answers.

            "What are you doing here?" asked Miroku, sounding annoyed with him.

            "I was going to ask you the same question," said Inuyasha, walking closer to him.

            "What do you want?" asked Miroku, not bothering to look at Inuyasha.

            "Is this how you treat a friend?" asked Inuyasha, getting irritated with Miroku's cold attitude.

            "A friend?" Miroku scoffed, finally turning around to look at him. "What makes you think that you are a friend to me?"

            "What?" asked Inuyasha, not understanding why Miroku was saying that.

            "You have no friends, Inuyasha," Miroku said, his eyes void of emotion, his manner cold. "Only enemies. And I am not an exception."

            "What the hell are you talking about?" asked Inuyasha, sounding angry, but in truth, he was afraid. He was afraid of being alone again.__

_            Alone? _Something before… Someone had said something about being alone. Was he doing something that made him become separated from everyone else? _No, it's not that. It's something else… But what?_

            "The next time I see you, don't be surprised if you get hurt," Miroku said, walking away.

            "Wait!" Inuyasha shouted, panic starting to fill his mind. Why was Miroku leaving? Had he done something wrong? Was Miroku the only one who was acting this way? Where were the others?

            Inuyasha quickly sniffed the air, but found no one's scent except Miroku's. _Where's everyone else? _He started to run another direction, something guiding him there. He didn't understand why Miroku had just done that. Why would Miroku cease to become his friend?

            Then he noticed Sango sitting by a stream. She was watching the light dance on the waters and she was smiling slightly.

            "Sango!" he called out, hoping that she wasn't afflicted with the same disease that seemed to have befallen Miroku.

            "Inuyasha?" she asked, looking surprised. At least she didn't look like she wasn't his friend anymore.

            "Yeah, it's me," he said. "Listen, Miroku's acting weird. Do you know anything about it?" he asked. She sighed and looked at the stream again.

            "Did you even do what I asked you to do?" she asked, sounding tired of him.

            "Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked, a feeling of foreboding overwhelming him.

            "I knew it. You didn't even remember," she sighed. "I guess I shouldn't have trusted you."

            "What are you talking about?" he repeated. Since when had Sango asked him to do something?

            "It doesn't matter, Inuyasha. I should have known that you can't do anything right," she said. "After all, you aren't a pure blood of anything. You're always a mix. I guess that's why you can't do **anything** right."

            "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Inuyasha, getting angry.

            "Listen, Inuyasha," Sango said, getting irritated with him. "It's obvious that you've never done anything right in your life. I don't even know why we still stick around you. We all should just reject you and do things by ourselves. It would probably be better that way. If you think about it, your life is a failure."

            He wanted to yell and scream at her, but he started to think. Was his life really a failure? Well, he **had** failed in his relationship with Kikyo, and he **had** failed several times to save Kagome. _And Naraku… How many times have I failed to realize his traps? How many times have I failed to defeat him?_

_            Too many times… Too many times…_

_            But that doesn't justify anything. That doesn't justify why Miroku would become my enemy, and why Sango would reject me for what I am._

            "It doesn't justify anything at all!" he shouted. But Sango was no longer there. Instead, Kagome was looking at him from under the God tree. "K-Kagome?!" he asked, surprised.

            "Yes?" she asked, sounding wary of him.

            "What?" he asked at her unusual tone of voice. "Is something wrong?"

            "No, but…" she looked at him, frowning. "Who are you exactly?" He just stared at her. She didn't remember who he was? That was impossible!

            "It's me, Inuyasha!" he said, starting to panic. Why did everything seem to go wrong today? Or had it always been this way for him?

            "I don't remember any Inuyasha," she said. _No. No! She can't have forgotten me! _he thought, fear starting to claw at him. _Why would she forget about me?_

            "Are you sure?" he asked, trying to calm himself, but with each blank look Kagome was giving him, he was starting to become more afraid. At least Miroku had remembered him, and Sango, too. But Kagome… Of all people, why did Kagome have to forget who he was?

            "Don't you remember?" he asked. "The Shikon no Tama?"

            "I remember the Shikon no Tama," Kagome said. "But I don't remember you. I don't remember ever meeting you."

            "What about our journeys together? 'Osuwari?' Miroku. Sango. Shippou!" he said, starting to become desperate. _What about my love for you? Have you forgotten that too? Have you forgotten the times that I risked my life for you, to keep you safe, to keep you happy? _

_            Do you remember telling me that you would stay by my side? No matter what? And now you forget me? Do you remember what you told me?_

            "Do you remember anything at all?" he asked in a soft voice. But he already knew the answer. And this knowledge filled him with a type of quiet despair.

            He was afraid. But it was no longer an urgent type of fear that he had felt with Miroku and Sango, but rather a calm fear that crept into every recess of his soul and gnawed it slowly away.

            "I-I'll see you later," said Kagome, walking away while looking at him suspiciously. He stood there, afraid to find out whatever else had changed. Suddenly Shippou appeared.

            "I guess it's time for you to die," Shippou said. "You're of no use to anyone else anyway."

            But he didn't want to die. He had to live. He had to explain to Kagome, to make her remember. He had to tell Sango that there were things that he could do right. He had to find out why Miroku wanted to be his enemy.

            And he knew, that because he wanted to live, because he didn't want his life to end yet, he feared death. Because he still had a will to live, he felt the numbing effects of being afraid to die.

            "I'll end your nightmares here," Shippou said, blue flames billowing on his hand. _Nightmares?_

_            "I'll tie you to your nightmares." _

_A girl's voice had said that._

_            "What do you fear?" _

_            That's right… There was a youkai. I was fighting youkai. I was fighting inside the Shikon no Tama. I was fighting so that all of us can escape this prison forever. So then, these are all…illusions?_

            But even though they were illusions, his own fear was not an illusion.__

_            Shippou… I have a feeling that if he kills me here, I'll really be dead, _he thought. Suddenly, Shippou shot the blue flames at him.

            "Kitsune-bi!" the childish voice said. Inuyasha felt the flames reach him and burn his body. _If this is all an illusion, then why does it hurt as if it were reality?_

            He never would have believed that Shippou was the one who would kill him in the end. He never would have believed that any of this would happen.

            And he wouldn't. He wouldn't become enemies with Miroku, his best friend. He wouldn't fail the people he cared about in any way as Sango had said he did. He would never let Kagome forget about how much he loved her, even if she would no longer love him. And he definitely would not let Shippou, or this Shippou look-alike, kill him.

            Suddenly he woke up, feeling the roots still binding him.

            "My spell," the youkai said, looking at Inuyasha in shock. "How did you manage to break it?"

            "Sankon Tetsusou!" he shouted, breaking his bonds and not bothering to answer her. She backed up, afraid now that her power had been broken. Inuyasha saw Tetsusaiga lying a few feet away, and with the power that was passed through sword youkai, he called for it. Tetsusaiga flew to him immediately, and with one cut, the tree youkai was killed.

            And he saw several youkai around him disappear suddenly, making him wonder what had just happened.

            "Inuyasha!" he heard Sango call out for him. "You did it! You awakened Courage!"

            He didn't know what she was talking about, but he smiled nonetheless. He had finally done something right. He really needn't have feared those illusions. They weren't real anyway. But he was glad to hear the compliment from Sango.

            "The wind are the legs on which I dance,

            Wherever I go there is destruction,

            Untamed I will harm you,

            Tamed I will aid you."

            Miroku looked at the youkai, trying to figure the riddle out. He was wasting too much time here, but he still couldn't find the way out of this place of darkness. _Flaw? Is there a flaw in this world? Other than the weird weather, the wind not blowing even though the clouds are moving, and the four walls that seem to serve no purpose other than trapping **nothing**, I think this place is quite all right, _he thought sarcastically.

            "Do you wish for me to repeat it?" the youkai asked, infinitely patient.

            "No need," he answered. _The wind are the legs on which I dance. Okay, what the hell does that mean? What has wind as legs?_

_            Wherever I go there is destruction. A bomb? No, a bomb doesn't dance with wind as its legs. Then again, what does?_

_            Untamed I will harm you. Is this some king of animal? Tamed I will aid you. What **is** this? Is it a dog? Does a dog cause destruction wherever it goes? What causes destruction wherever it goes? Tornadoes?_

            He paused. _Tornadoes… But how do you tame a tornado?_ He started to think again. _Tornadoes, no. Animals, highly unlikely. What about fire? Fire moves by wind. Wherever fire goes, there is destruction. An untamed fire will definitely harm, if not kill. And a tamed one can be used for various helpful things._

            "Fire," he said. _Now, she's going to say another riddle. This isn't going anywhere. I have to find the flaw in this world already._

            "Darkness is my cover,

            Stars are my weapons.

            I am sent to destroy,

            Or just to listen."__

_            Darkness is my cover, _he thought. _Must be some sort of assassin or spy. Stars are my weapons? Ninja! It has to be a ninja!_

_            But wait… Before I say the answer, I should use some of this time to find out what is wrong with this world._ He looked up at the sky. _There's a sun, a sky, clouds, and really nothing else. The only thing missing is some natural life in here besides that youkai and me. Is that what's wrong? There's no life?_

_            Fire is destruction, which means anything in its wake will be empty. A ninja is a human, so I suppose it is supposed to symbolize life. What was the answer to the riddles I had answered before? Oh yeah. Water, mother, and… What was that last one? Dreams? Well, without life, you really can't dream. I think I've got the answer then._

            "Ninja," Miroku said. "And the flaw to this world is life."

            "Wise that you are, Houshi-sama," the youkai said in a soft voice, "be wary. The answer to the flaw of this world shall more than aid you." She looked at him, her gaze as intense as ever. "You are released from this world, but the true battle has only begun. Remember this place."

            She slowly faded away from view, the dark walls crumbling away as the barren landscape returned into that of the land in the Shikon no Tama.

            "So I have to keep the answer of life in mind," Miroku said to himself.

            "Miroku!" Sango shouted, waving to him from the top of a hill. Inuyasha was standing next to her, along with Midoriko. They were both looking for something, or someone.

            Miroku walked to Sango. So, the true battle was beginning.

            Kagome swung the sword Inuyasha had given her again and again. Her arms were getting tired, but she knew that if she quit, it would mean her life.

            Inuyasha was fighting next to her, but she didn't know where the others were. Suddenly, she felt a tiny prick on her head as if someone had just pulled a strand of her hair out. She swung her sword at a random direction, feeling annoyed that someone had pulled her hair. Sparks flew from the blade as she swung it, never ceasing to surprise her. A day ago, she could find no way to release her miko powers except through an arrow, and now, she could channel her powers through any object. She wondered if her new power was due to the strange balance of the world.

            "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, running towards her suddenly. She looked at him, confused as to why he had such an anxious expression on. She turned to look in back of her and saw a huge youkai, getting ready to slash her with his massive claws.

            "I can handle this!" she shouted to Inuyasha, not wanting to be a burden upon him. She knew that he trusted her, and would most likely let her handle the problem on her own, even if he didn't like it.

            But, to her surprise, he jumped in front of her, cutting the youkai's hands off with his sword. She was slightly irritated that he didn't trust her, but she was sort of glad that her cared about her enough to try and protect her.

            "Inuyasha, you don't always have to—" Kagome started to say, but was cut off when a hoard of youkai surrounded them.

            "Shit," Inuyasha said, and Kagome couldn't agree with him more. She held the sword in front of her, her arms feeling like bars of lead, but she knew that if she should falter, she would not be given a second chance.

            The youkai attacked suddenly, and Kagome was soon lost in a whirl of claws, swords, poison, and any other type of weaponry that was flying through the battlefield. Kagome lost count of how many she had slashed with her sword, and wondered why Inuyasha wasn't using the Kaze no Kizu.

            Suddenly, the sea of youkai parted to let one among them to enter closer to Inuyasha and Kagome. Kagome held the sword by her side, ready to swing it at this youkai that had caused them so much suffering.

            "I see you still haven't done your job yet," Naraku said, an expression of deadly calm on his face.

            "My main concern is getting rid of you now," Inuyasha said, leaving Kagome to wonder what he was talking about. _If his main concern now is to defeat Naraku, then what was his main concern before?_ She looked at the two, and realized that there was some sort of secret agenda between them.

            "So you wish to betray me?" Naraku asked, the air around his becoming darker. "You won't live to regret it."

            "We'll see about that," Inuyasha said, Tetsusaiga ready for battle. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, confused. What did Naraku mean when he said that Inuyasha was betraying him? What was going on?

            "I suppose that even as you are, you will always have weaknesses for ningen," Naraku laughed, seemingly amused.

            "Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted, getting angry. "I may not be truly living, but I will NEVER have weaknesses for ningen!" And he attacked Naraku suddenly, forcing Naraku to dodge. Kagome looked around her and found that all the other youkai had moved off to another place, possibly to fight her friends. She looked back at Inuyasha and Naraku fighting, and wished that she had her bow and arrows from before to try and shoot Naraku. But even as she thought this, she felt that something was amiss. The conversation that Inuyasha and Naraku had just had was just too strange. She was missing a piece of the puzzle…

            Naraku shot his tentacle at Inuyasha, penetrating his red fire rat coat, deep into his chest. Kagome watched in shock as Inuyasha fell down, but before she could do anything, Inuyasha disappeared before her, leaving only an all too familiar wooden center with a single silver hair tied around it.

            "Inuyasha…" _was fake?_ she thought. _But how could… When did he turn into a puppet? And where's the real Inuyasha? _She looked at Naraku angrily. So, he was playing his game of deceiving images again.

            "How disappointing," he said, crushing the wooden block beneath his feet. "I had hoped that he would kill you."

            "Why? So that you can enjoy your stupid show?" Kagome asked, tears of anger starting to form in her eyes.

            "It would have been amusing to see the look on your face when the one you loved finally destroyed you," Naraku smiled, not reassuring Kagome at all. "It would have been just as tragic as when that fool of a priestess shot her only love." Kagome shook with anger. "But the true show would be after you had died. I wonder how Inuyasha would have felt after he found out that you had been destroyed by his image?"

            "Damn you…" she said through clenched teeth, trying to tell her mind to calm down. _You…bastard! I'll never forgive you for this! I'll never forgive you for hurting Inuyasha so many times, for hurting all of us! I'll tear you apart with my own two hands if I can!_

            "Are you angry?" he asked, still calm, still in control. _I can't do anything. The sword that Inuyasha gave me… I'll never get close enough to him to attack him without being killed first._

            "Then the next act should get you to change your emotions," he said, smiling darkly. "But I wonder, do you prefer being angry, or being heartbroken?"

            "What are you talking about?" Kagome asked, but Naraku shot miasma around then, obscuring him from view. Kagome quickly ran from the toxic cloud, and by the time the poisonous fog had disappeared, Naraku was gone. But he was replaced by another scene. One that Kagome could only watch in horror.

            He had separated from the others again, but this time, it was planned. Miroku had come up with a plan to counter Naraku's illusions, and Inuyasha only hoped it worked. Everything depended on whether or not the illusion was real enough, and Inuyasha hoped that he had gained enough experience to make his act convincing.

            He ran across the fields, finally spotting Kagome. He wondered if she had awoken the trait that she represented yet. He knew that he and Sango had already awoken theirs, but he wasn't so sure about Miroku. When he had come out of that dark plane, none of the youkai had disappeared as they had done when Inuyasha and Sango had discovered their traits. So he wondered if Miroku had truly found wisdom yet.__

_            Although even if he doesn't find wisdom, he sure is smart to have come up with a plan like this, _he thought. _Not that I'll ever tell him that to his face._ He finally caught up to Kagome, helping her fight off a section of youkai.

            "Kagome, has anything strange happened yet?" he asked her. He had to be careful. Was this Kagome the real one, or was she just a fake?

            "What do you mean?" she asked, breathing hard as she swung the blade at another youkai.

            "Have the youkai all of a sudden disappeared?" he asked while fighting another youkai. They were relatively low-level youkai, but there were just so many of them. Even **he** was getting tired by all this fighting, so he could only imagine what the others felt.

            "No. Nobody has disappeared," she said, sounding like Kagome. He still wasn't sure though. The only problem with Miroku's plan was that they had no way to discover whether or not the other person was real or fake.

            Suddenly, a youkai purposely tripped Kagome, causing her to fall. The very same youkai then tried to impale her with his weapon. Inuyasha quickly ran to her. _Even if I don't know if she's real, I can't risk getting Kagome hurt… _He scooped her up, and a moment later, knew that he had fallen for the same trick again.

            The hand that "Kagome" had pierced through his body was now bloody. But he wasn't worried. He knew he wouldn't die.

            But as he fell to the ground, his eyes met another Kagome's. She had such a horrified and despairing expression on her face that he wished she didn't have to see. He wished that she didn't have to see this happening, just like last time.

            And then his eyes closed for the last time.

            "Inuyasha…" she said, unable to take her eyes off the scene before her. It had happened again. The same end that had happened five hundred years ago had happened again. Why hadn't she tried to stop it? But how could she? How could she have prevented Naraku from carrying out his plans?

            She hugged herself tightly, unable to cry. Her face was dry, and she knew that she would shed no more tears over Naraku's treacherous games. She closed her eyes, her mind empty except for one thought. _Inuyasha…_

            "What kind of cold woman are you?" a familiar voice said suddenly. "Not even crying… I thought you cared about me."

            Her eyes snapped open, and she could only look at Inuyasha, dumbfounded. She looked over to where his body still lay, and looked at the Inuyasha before her again. _Wait a minute, _she thought._ There are two of them… What's going on? This one isn't a fake, is he?_

            She stood up suddenly, and narrowed her eyes at him. He only raised an eyebrow.

            "You really are cold, Kagome," he sighed. "I just risked my life to save you, and all you can do is look at me suspiciously."

            "What do you expect me to do?" she asked, afraid to find out whether or not the one before her was a fake. She hoped so desperately that he was real. "I don't even know if you're real. And you expect me to cry over you about your stupidity?" she said, forcing herself to sound angry. "You died exactly the same way… Am I supposed to cry about an idiotic action like that?"

            "Well sorry for being such a romantic person that would risk his life for the one he loves," he said sarcastically, but not sounding angry. Kagome was starting to feel a little bit guilty for not believing that the person before her was real, but she didn't want to let her guard down. She didn't want to make the same mistake as before.

            "All right, Kagome, what should I do to convince you that I'm real?" he asked, looking like he was thinking very hard.

            "Dance," Kagome said automatically, remembering how Musashino couldn't dance to save his life.

            "All right," he said, taking her hand, and immediately dancing very well. _He has to be a fake! Musashino couldn't dance at all..._ She pulled herself away from him, knowing for sure that he was a fake now.

            "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you," he said, grinning, unfazed by her action. "Musashino can't dance, but Inuyasha knows how to very well." Kagome looked at him, not quite sure what to think. Was he telling the truth?

            "You know that a person has lost it if they start talking about themselves in third person," Sango said, appearing behind Kagome and shaking her head. "Right, Miroku?"

            "Yes, yes," he said, nodding in agreement. Kagome looked at the two, who were followed by Midoriko and Kirara. "He's definitely lost it. But I must congratulate you, Inuyasha, for your excellence performance on the field."

            "It was nothing," Inuyasha grinned. Kagome looked from one face to another. _What is going on?!_

            "It was a good thing that your mother taught you about those spells before," Miroku said.

            "And a good thing that I'm smart enough to remember how to do it right," Inuyasha said. Kagome tried to piece what they said together.

            "But who came up with the plan? As I recall, it wasn't you," Miroku said, grinning cheekily.

            "Why you…!"

            "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Kagome asked, knowing that the two boys' conversation weren't going to go anywhere.

            "Oh, we knew that Naraku was going to try something like last time, so we came up with a plan to go against it," Sango explained.

            "You mean **I** came up with a plan to go against it," Miroku said, utterly unashamed.

            "The coming of ego is quickly followed by failure," Midoriko said, smiling slightly. Kirara mewed in agreement.

            "Basically, I created an illusion spell to make Naraku think that the puppet Kagome killed me, which was actually an illusion, but the real me would just do something else," Inuyasha explained. Kagome was still slightly confused.

            "The one you saw die was a fake Inuyasha," Sango tried to clarify. "The real one is the one here."

            "Yes, but he's under an illusion spell also," Miroku said.

            "Huh?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha didn't look any different to her.

            "It's not an illusion spell, stupid," Inuyasha said to Miroku, sighing in exasperation. "It's an invisible spell."

            "Well, how was I to remember since you don't look invisible enough to remind me?" Miroku asked.

            "What?" asked Kagome.

            "The invisible spell Inuyasha has on is targeted only at enemies, which is why we, his friends, can see him," Sango explained.

            "Naraku will think that Inuyasha is dead, and so will let down his defenses," Miroku said, breaking out of his fight with Kagome. "That's when we'll attack him."

            "We're going to use his own game against him," Sango said, the prospect of an end to the war making her giddy with excitement.

            "Oi. Where's Shippou?" Inuyasha asked, looking at the group around him. Kagome saw Miroku and Sango looking around for Shippou, while Midoriko was petting Kirara, and looking very tired. She saw a small barb on Kirara's fur, and moved to pluck it out when it suddenly spoke.

            "No! You've found me!" said Shippou, as he transformed back to his original form.

            "Stupid Shippou," Inuyasha said, "always playing around."

            "I wasn't playing around," Shippou objected. "I was spying!"

            "Did you find anything?" asked Miroku.

            "Yup!" Shippou said, swelling with importance. "Naraku's not trying to win the battle. He's just trying to pollute the world enough with his youki so that he can get out and rule the real world.  Which means that he isn't going to try and defeat us."

            "If he should leave this world before you do," Midoriko said suddenly, "then you will not be able to return to you own."

            "What?" asked Miroku, Kagome, and Sango in unison. Shippou looked at her in confusion.

            "Naraku's connection to this world is through a body," Inuyasha said. "His soul is here, but not his body. If he leaves, any connection from our world to this one is lost. And since you're all here not only in body but also in soul…"

            "There will not be a connection for us to return to our world," Miroku finished grimly. Inuyasha nodded.

            "Then we'll just have to defeat him!" Sango said vehemently. Midoriko suddenly faded completely away, leaving everyone except Inuyasha in shock.

            "F-forgive me," Midoriko said when she appeared again, breathless.

            "Midoriko-sama…" Miroku said, worried.

            "You should all leave," Inuyasha said quietly.

            "What?" asked Kagome, angry that he would suggest such a thing. He lowered his head, hiding his eyes from her view.

            "He is correct," Midoriko said, looking pale. "I will call you all back when you have lived your lives."

            "Why?" demanded Sango. "Without us, the world will fall into darkness, and that won't be much of a world to live in."

            "At least in the real world, you can still have the chance of defeating him," Inuyasha said, still calm and quiet as if he had already lost. "But if he leaves you in this world, no matter how many youkai you destroy here, you will never be able to defeat Naraku. There won't be a Naraku here for you to defeat."

            "All chances of destroying this place will be lost if he manages to leave," Midoriko said. "Of two evils, the lesser one is if you leave."

            "But what about Inuyasha?!" Kagome demanded angrily. "If we don't defeat Naraku, he won't have a body to return to, which means he'll be stuck here, and even if he gets out, he'll be dead!" she shouted. "I won't leave him behind while I go to live my life," she said, lowering her voice. "I won't have much of one without him, anyway," she whispered.

            "Midoriko-sama, can't you send Inuyasha out into his own body?" Sango asked, knowing that her friend would feel great pain if she should leave Inuyasha behind.

            "I cannot," she said, her voice barely louder than the whispers of the wind. "To his body, Naraku is the owner. It will not accept Inuyasha unless the vessel is empty. As long as Naraku lives, the body will believe that Naraku is the master."

            "I can't leave anyway," Inuyasha said.

            "This is no time to play hero!" Miroku shouted angrily. He wasn't going to let his friend go without a fight.

            "Forgive me, Midoriko-sama, but you can't keep Inuyasha here just so that he can help you," Sango said.

            "It's not that," Inuyasha said, sounding tired. "I'm connected to this world like Midoriko-sama. This world occupies the shell of her heart, which is why she can't leave this place, and can't truly die."

            "What does that have to do with you?" Shippou asked, not wanting to leave Inuyasha behind.

            "I'm connected to the Shikon no Tama," he said. "When the Shikon shard was in my soul, Kagome tried to pull the shard out. Then Naraku stole it from her. But she never pulled every last piece in my soul out."

            Kagome gasped. That crack that she had seen in the Shikon no Tama after they "defeated" Naraku… She remembered how that crack had disappeared as she was looking at it. Did that mean…?

            "When Midoriko-sama called me to this world, I carried the last shard with me," Inuyasha continued, looking at everyone as he spoke except for Kagome. He was afraid to look at her. He was afraid to find out what she felt. "So in joining this world, the last shard connected itself to the rest of the Shikon no Tama."

            "And your soul is still connected to the Shikon no Tama," Miroku said in a quiet voice.

            "That means that if we don't destroy both Naraku and the Shikon no Tama, then…" Sango didn't finish her sentence.

            "I'm staying," Kagome said firmly, her voice allowing no dissent. "The rest of you should leave."

            "What?!" asked Sango, outraged. "What kind of person do you take me for? I'm **not** going to leave my friend behind for anything!"

            "You should know by now that we wouldn't desert our friends," Miroku said. "Besides, we'll be stronger if we're together."

            "Everything just won't be the same if you and Inuyasha aren't there," Shippou said.

            "But you guys…" _You can't stay here just because of my selfish decision, _she thought. _I won't let anyone suffer for the rest of their life just because of me._

            "Nobody's staying!" Inuyasha said loudly. "Are you all blind? Can't you see that Midoriko-sama is weakened by the evil of this world? When the evil becomes too overwhelming for her, she'll become on the side of the dark, also. And when she does… I will soon follow her."

            "If you wish to leave, now is the time to do it," Midoriko said. "I do not know if I will have enough power later."

            "I won't leave!" Kagome shouted. _Why is Inuyasha being so stubborn? I'm telling him we can get through this together!_ "I won't leave you behind!"

            "Idiot!" he shouted at her. "The only thing you'll ultimately end up doing is killing the both of us. Just leave this place and purify the Shikon no Tama from the outside."

            "How can I do that if Naraku has swallowed it in your body?" Kagome said. "By this time, the Shikon no Tama must have fused with him already."

            "I don't care! Just leave!" he shouted at her stubbornly.

            "I'm not going to leave the one I love behind. Do you understand?" she screamed at him, anger getting the best of her. Inuyasha looked a little surprised at her, but she didn't stop what she was saying. "If you think I'm just going to abandon you here, then you've got another thing coming!" _I… I just told him, _she privately thought, feeling both relieved and afraid. _Out of all the times that I had the chance to tell him that I loved him, I had to choose the most unromantic one… But I'm glad… I'm glad that I finally got to tell him. Before it was too late for either of us._

            "Inuyasha, as your friends, we have the duty of sticking with you till the end," Miroku said, showing his own stubbornness. Sango and Shippou nodded in agreement. Midoriko smiled weakly at their fortitude.

            "Perhaps we really can win this battle," she said, drawing strength from the force of their will. She noticed someone fast advancing upon them.

            "Or perhaps you will die as all who have opposed me have done," Naraku said, the sky darkening with his approach. "There shall be no more games. I will no longer waste my time here."

            "We're ready for you," Miroku said, noticing that the dark army was only two fifths of what it had started out with. Kagome must have awoken love. Now all that was left was for him to obtain wisdom, and Shippou to understand life.

            But things always seemed to be easier said than done.


	47. Battle of the Souls

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Battle of the Souls**

            She pulled the arrow back, the bow bending to its maximum without breaking, the dust of the now barren world irritating her eyes. All she had to do was find one clear shot, but Naraku was no fool. Midoriko had her hands full trying to fend off the youkai as the others were trying to immobilize Naraku so that Kagome could make the final blow.

            Shippou tried time and time again to burn Naraku with his fire, but with no success. They were surrounded by youkai, and whenever Shippou tried to blast Naraku, a youkai would block or deflect the shot, making any advancement on Naraku impossible.

            He leapt, transformed, ran, crawled, and fought his way towards Naraku, but in the end, it was no use. He was still as far away from Naraku as he was before. Shippou looked at Inuyasha, who kept on switching between using the wound of the wind and the final stance of Tetsusaiga, trying to kill the youkai surrounding him, as well as Naraku.

            Miroku, without his air void, was having a difficult time, along with Sango, whose arm was starting to shake with every throw and swing of the giant boomerang. Kagome's purifying energy was keeping the youkai from getting near her so that she could make a clean shot, but even now, she still had not fired.

            Shippou's mind was overwhelmed with the amount of movement that was occurring around him, but he pulled himself together. _I have to help everyone defeat Naraku. Then I can go back home with everyone, and we'll all finally be safe._

            Shippou squeaked in surprise as an arrow suddenly soared above his head. He watched as the arrow started to glow, heading for Naraku. Naraku moved at the last moment, and Shippou watched in shock as the arrow continued its path, now heading for Inuyasha.

            "Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, trying to warn him. Inuyasha turned around just in time to see the arrow shatter against an invisible barrier.

            "Don't worry, Kagome," Miroku shouted. "I've got Inuyasha covered. Just continue firing at Naraku when you have the chance."

            Shippou watched Kagome nod determinedly, but noticed that there was only one arrow left in Kagome's quiver. She had to make the last arrow count. Otherwise, it was all over.

            Shippou sneaked behind a group of youkai and yanked one of the youkai's tail. The youkai promptly began beating up his partner for hurting his tail, and his partner began fighting him in defense. Soon a fight ensued between the youkai, and Shippou started to move away to another target.

            "Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted suddenly, rushing to the side of his fallen companion. Shippou quickly ran towards Miroku and Inuyasha.

            "Fight, you moron," Miroku said through clenched teeth, blood trickling out of his mouth. He held a deep gash in his chest, and didn't even bother to try and stand up. Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga, temporarily clearing the area of youkai.

            "You idiot! What did you do that for?" Inuyasha asked, angry.

            "Someone had to save your sorry butt," Miroku said, trying to suppress a cough. As his body shook with the suppressed cough, more blood started to flow out of his wound. "In this battle, sacrifices must be made. You'll be more able to defeat Naraku than I will…"

            "That's a stupid reason to sell your life for!" Inuyasha shouted at him, looking like he wanted to throttle the former monk.

            "With wisdom, comes responsibility," Miroku said. Shippou felt a sudden chill as more of the dark army disappeared with wisdom's awakening. "I understand that the choice I made would end my life, but it will also help us win."

            "Always looking at the bigger picture aren't you?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically, his voice laced with fury and hatred. Miroku tried to smile, but he didn't have the strength to anymore. Shippou felt his heart drop as Miroku slumped to the ground, his eyes closing. He heard Inuyasha's knuckles crack as he clenched his fists in an expression indiscernible, and saw Sango brutally cutting a certain youkai apart.__

_            Miroku…_ Shippou looked at the unmoving body in disbelief. _Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave again? _He felt alone. Why was that it was always he that escaped injury, while everyone around him died? His parents had been the first, then Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango… And now, Miroku had gone again. Was it because he was cursed to bring death to the people he cared about? Was it some deity's irony that he should symbolize life when all that he saw around him was death?

            Shippou knelt near Miroku and tried to shake him awake. He still didn't move, and it didn't look like he was going to move, no matter what he did.

            "Watch his body," Inuyasha commanded Shippou in a cool and emotionless voice. Inuyasha sounded so hollow that it was frightening. He was containing his emotions very well, and Shippou was afraid to find out what Inuyasha would do for revenge.

            "Miroku, get up," Shippou said, poking Miroku in the ribs. _He can't die again. I won't let him die again! _Shippou thought as he started to cry. _Miroku, you get up right NOW!_

            There was suddenly a strange surge of light, and Shippou saw the wounds on Miroku heal immediately, and a moment later, Miroku was standing up, as healthy as ever, without so much as a stain of blood to show for his recent injuries.

            "Miroku!" Shippou shouted happily. But he suddenly noticed that as Miroku got up, so did many of the youkai that they had destroyed earlier. All the youkai that had disappeared with the awakening of love, friendship, courage, and wisdom had all returned to the battlefield.

            He had revived Miroku, but at what cost? Should he have just let Miroku die, all so that they could win a battle?

            Shippou wondered what he had done, and the consequences of his action. The wave of youki hitting him was unnerving, and Shippou hoped that he hadn't made the situation worse.

            Kagome saw Midoriko falter as youkai suddenly appeared all around them. The barrier that she had erected with the help of Miroku trembled under the onslaught of youki, and she wondered how long she could maintain the protective shield in order to shoot Naraku. One arrow was all it would take to end his life; one arrow to end this nightmare; one arrow to escape and start their life anew.

            But the one arrow was more difficult to shoot than a thousand arrows. Kagome felt her body shaking with anxiety, afraid to fail the shot with her last arrow. Midoriko still fought valiantly, but traces of fatigue could be seen in her, and with the new wave of youki, she seemed to be fading in and out. Kagome was afraid of what that meant.

            Inuyasha suddenly appeared and swung Tetsusaiga carelessly at Naraku, his face calm, but his actions revealing his inner feelings. Miroku was next to Shippou, who was keeping the youkai at bay with his fire. Kagome felt the shield around her flicker as youkai started to beat at it, trying to get in. She saw Miroku sit down on the grass as Shippou created a ring of fire to keep them both safe.

            Miroku took his prayer beads and began to chant, and a strange string of light started to appear, heading towards Naraku to bind him. Sango swung Hiraikotsu, forcing Naraku to back up and fall into Miroku's trap. The light quickly surrounded and bound Naraku, who was struggling to get free. Inuyasha swung his blade, unleashing the terrible final attack of Tetsusaiga.

            Amazingly enough, Naraku blocked the shot with the power of conjuring up a shied. Although the shield prevented Naraku from being ripped apart, it didn't dissipate the power of Tetsusaiga, and Naraku was left struggling between Miroku's bindings and Inuyasha's attack.

            "Kagome, now!" Inuyasha shouted. She pulled the arrow back with all the energy she could muster, and fed the arrow her power, releasing the arrow to sail through the thick, black air towards Naraku. Naraku suddenly twisted his shield around, forcing Tetsusaiga's attack to meet Kagome's purifying arrow. Instead of nullifying each other, the two attacks collided in a great explosion that knocked everyone off their feet.

            Kagome felt Kirara's warm body behind her, and held on to the giant cat for support. The explosion slowly subsided, Naraku still standing, when suddenly a shockwave from the explosion started to sweep through the crowds, vaporizing all that came in contact with it.

            Kirara suddenly jumped off towards Sango, who was closest to the shockwave. Moments before they were both engulfed by the shockwave, a ring of billowing flames suddenly appeared around the wave of death, stopping its advancement. Kagome turned and saw that Shippou was the one who had conjured up the ghostly flames, saving all their lives. But just how long could he keep the flames alive?

            The flames started to burn brighter as Inuyasha forced his youki to the fire. Soon, youkai all over were concentrating and aiming their youki towards the large bonfire, feeding the flames and helping the small kitsune. It didn't matter that they had been enemies moments before. When it came to a decision between life and death, they were all unanimous in choosing life.

            The ring of fire constricted suddenly, and the one who had once embodied Onigumo was again burnt alive in the flames sent neither by Heaven nor Hell, but from the will to live.

            Kagome saw the gray sky of the Shikon no Tama crack and shatter, and with one last look at Midoriko who was standing only a little distance away, she knew that they had finally won.

            Midoriko smiled at her; a smile full of serenity and peace. She clasped her hands together and bowed at Kagome as she slowly started to fade.

            "Thank you," she whispered, disappearing like the pieces of the Shikon no Tama as the mirror of the true world shattered. Kagome felt an unknown, but comforting presence lift her up, and she soon left the land of dreams behind her.

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for not updating for, like, three weeks! Please forgive me. I just didn't have the time, and all this fighting stuff is hard for me to write. But I gave you three chapters in a single update. Isn't that nice? You didn't have to wait for the next chapters at all. I mean, waiting a long time for lots of chapters is better than waiting for a new chapter every week, right? Right?

Well, the next chapter is going to be the last in this story and will basically wrap things up. I don't know when it's going to come out, and I can't make any promises with finals coming up and everything, but if there are still any questions that you need answered about the story, now is the time to ask! Anything left unexplained, any confusion, or anything like that is going to be explained in the last chapter, so if you don't tell me what you don't understand, then I won't know to explain it, so I won't write it. Okay?

I eagerly await whatever suggestions you have for anything, so please feel free to tell me anything! Criticism, please!


	48. Complete the Circle

**Complete the Circle**

**Chapter Forty-Eight: Complete the Circle**

            He looked at it distastefully, and then glared back at his mother, refusing to do as she had told him to.

            "How hard is it to give this to a girl you like?" she asked, sighing as if he were hopeless.

            "I know what you're trying to do, and it ain't gonna work!" he shouted.

            "Why?" asked Rin, looking curiously at her brother. "Everyone knows you like Kagome, anyway."

            "Quiet, fool!" he shouted, getting angry. They had no right to butt into his business. He was going to go at his own pace, and no one was going to rush him into anything.

            "Inuyasha, just give it to Kagome," his mother said in a very motherly way. "It's her birthday, after all."

            "Why?" he asked suspiciously. "You keep on trying to make me give her this piece of crap. What's so special about it?"

            "How dare you call the family heirloom a 'piece of crap?'" his mother said in angry surprise. "I'll have you know that this hairpin has been around for more than a millennium, and has even been worn by the Great Empress Himiko herself!"

            "Who cares if an old hag wore it once upon a time?" Inuyasha said, holding the hairpin as if it were poison.

            "An old hag?! How dare you?!" his mother shouted in frustration. Both he and Rin had to cover their ears. His mother had sure recovered quickly in the past few days.

            "Inuyasha, you're taking this to school, and no more will be said about it!" she said, shoving the priceless hairpin in his pocket. _For something supposedly so valuable, she sure is treating it rough, _Inuyasha thought, as he stopped himself from taking the hairpin out.

            "If you try to take the hairpin out without giving it to Kagome, you are going to be very sorry," she said in a menacing voice. "I've put a little spell on it, and I dare you to try and disobey me." He gulped visibly, and he could tell by the expression on Rin's face that she was glad she wasn't in his position.

            "Now, off you two go to school," she said pleasantly, the previous atmosphere completely evaporated. "Don't forget to take your lunches." He quickly grabbed his lunch and made his way out. Whatever his mother had planned, he was going to have to follow it…for now.

            Kagome rushed through the house madly, grabbing her jacket and pulling it on while trying to wear her socks at the same time. She heard the bread pop out of the toaster as she quickly drank her orange juice, still struggling with one of her socks. She put the cup back on the table none too gently, and grabbed her backpack. _I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, _she thought in a panic. Even her thoughts were rushed.

            "Mama, I'm going to go now!" she shouted, swinging the backpack on her back and grabbing a piece of toast. She threw the toast in her mouth as she hurried down the steps, struggling with her shoes.

            "Be careful!" her mother shouted as she started to walk down the steps.

            "Mmphf!" Kagome said, unable to respond with her mouth full. Suddenly, she tripped and fell down the steps of the shrine, dropping her backpack and losing her toast.

            "Kyaa!" she screamed, falling backwards. _I'm going to die,_ she thought. _Barely a week after we've destroyed Naraku, and I'm going to fall down the steps and break my neck. I survived youkai and the world of the Shikon no Tama, only to die at the steps of the family shrine. _Kagome could feel the air move out under her, giving her no resistance to her coming tragedy. _This is embarrassing, _she thought. _"Girl who survives Time Travel, Youkai, and Dream Worlds dies while trying to eat breakfast and wear her shoes at the same time." That would be an interesting headline._

            As she fell, she heard the sound of her backpack hitting against the hard concrete, and she knew that she was going to have the same fate. But just as she expected to fall and crack her head, she instead fell into something soft and warm, and that something seemed to say "ow!" followed by a string of cussing.

            "What do you think you're doing, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, rubbing his head where he had bumped it. "Learning how to fly?"

            "Very funny, Inuyasha," she said, trying to collect her wits and calm herself down. She was glad Inuyasha had been down there to break her fall.

            "Oh my!" said Miroku as he saw the pair on the ground. "Sango, don't look!"

            "Shut up, you pervert!" both Inuyasha and Kagome shouted angrily at Miroku. Kagome quickly got up and brushed herself off. Inuyasha did the same.

            "Sure, just try to cover it up," Miroku said in an annoying voice. "But **I** know the truth."

            "Sure, Miroku," Sango said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Kagome-chan, Inuyasha. Shippou, Souta and Rin have already gone ahead of us."

            "Leave them be, Sango," Miroku said, starting to walk towards the school. "Just leave them be. I'm sure they want some more private time together. They probably—"

            He was never able to finish his sentence for quite a few people knocked out his senses in hopes of keeping him from further embarrassing himself with his rather…strange ideas.

            And so the merry trio and the unconscious pervert marched merrily to school, unaware that this was the start of a fateful day that would affect the rest of their lifetime, and perhaps beyond.

            Kagome sat in class, bored with what the math teacher was saying. She didn't even try to understand it anymore. All she was doing now was just to memorize the formula and memorize the method of solving the problem. If she really wanted to know the wonders of mathematics, she would just ask Inuyasha later.

            She stole a peek at him, and saw that he was dutifully taking notes, something that she should have been doing for the past minute. She started copying notes again. The everyday routine of homework and learning was boring after the recent events that she had experienced. She still couldn't believe that most people took the strange dark cloud that had filled the city and fouled everyone's personality to be a "freak storm caused by the strange meshing of warm air currents with cold air currents." What kind of lame explanation was that? Even a child wouldn't believe such bogus, but much to her chagrin, she found that most adults did believe it. She supposed that they believed only what they wanted to believe, and Kagome wondered why on earth did she ever bother making Shippou promise not to use his powers when the rest of the world seemed to dismiss such phenomenal occurrence to be a glitch with the weather.

            Kagome turned into a zombie and copied pages after pages of notes for each of her classes, until finally the lovely bell that signaled the end of the school day rang, and she was free for the rest of the weekend. 

            "Kagome, are you going to go out with Musashino again this weekend?" asked her friends, following her as she walked out of the school.

            "I am **not** going out with him," she said. "We're just **friends**, okay?" She wondered why she and Inuyasha were still beating around the bush even though they had both basically declared their love for each other. _Maybe I'm still not sure, _she thought, but she knew that wasn't true. She was just waiting for something, but for what, she did not know.

            "Kagome-chan, we're going to the ice cream parlor. Are you coming?" asked Sango, walking next to Miroku and Inuyasha, who were currently making a very pointless discussion on how the color of gumballs affected people's intelligence.

            "Sure!" Kagome said. She turned to her friends. "You guys want to come?"

            "Oh no," one of them said.

            "Don't have the time," another said.

            "We don't want to be a third wheel in your little party," one of her friends winked. The three of them walked off, waving and wishing good luck to her. Kagome sighed and walked next to Sango.

            "I'm telling you, red makes people lose their brain cells," Inuyasha said.

            "I guess you would know, wouldn't you?" asked Miroku. "But I'm telling you, it's blue. There's something seriously wrong with that flavor, and it probably gives you brain damage, or something."

            "Brain damage?" asked Sango, not believing a word the boys were saying.

            "Yeah, right," said Inuyasha. "It is **so** not blue. If it was blue, then the green one would taste weird and give you brain damage, but that's obviously not true since we both decided that the green gumball is the one that makes people more intelligent."

            "What does that have to do with anything?" asked Miroku. "Blue is not green."

            "But green comes from blue, so you're definitely wrong," said Inuyasha stubbornly.

            "Is there a point to this conversation?" asked Kagome, wondering if both the boy's brains were damaged.

            "Of course there is," said Inuyasha.

            "We have to know which color is better so that we can avoid losing further brain cells in the future," Miroku said wisely.

            "You're both losing brain cells in this stupid conversation," said Sango, wondering how she ever became friends with these two idiots.

            "Hey, maybe yellow is the one that causes—" started Inuyasha.

            "Oh, that's right!" agreed Miroku.

            "That has to be it!" asserted Inuyasha.

            "Okay, it's decided," Miroku said. "Yellow it is."

            "What?" asked Kagome. Sango decided she didn't want to know. Kagome wondered what the yellow gumball caused. Intelligence or idiocy? But it was a mystery that she would never discover the answer to.

            "All right, we're here," Sango said, opening the door. She remembered this ice cream parlor from before. Last time they had come here, Inuyasha and Kagome had gotten into a fight. She hoped that this time, things were going to end differently.

            "You order it, Sango," Miroku said. "I want to discuss things with Inuyasha some more."

            "What flavors do you want?" she asked.

            "Who cares?" asked Inuyasha as he and Miroku got into a heated debate about how doughnuts affected brain waves.

            Sango came back with their ice cream, finding that the two were still discussing the same thing. She placed the ice cream in front of everyone and cleared her throat.

            "Inuyasha, don't you have something to give to Kagome?" she asked, starting to put into the motion the plan that she, Miroku, and a certain mystery person had concocted.

            "Oh yeah," Inuyasha said, reaching into his backpack. "Happy birthday, Kagome," he said as he handed her a wrapped gift.

            "Thank you," Kagome said, surprised that Inuyasha had gotten her something. She unwrapped the gift and found that it contained a tiny golden heart on a gold chain.

            "It's so pretty," Kagome breathed, smiling in thanks at Inuyasha.

            "Happy birthday, Kagome," Miroku and Sango said, each giving her their presents. She unwrapped Miroku's present and found it to be a small angel statuette made of crystal. She opened Sango's present last and saw that it was a heavy book about ancient Japan, particularly in the Sengoku Jidai, as well as a coupon for exterminations.

            "Got to advertise when you can," Sango said, joking. Kagome smiled.

            "Thanks, you guys," she said. "But you really didn't have to."

            "We know we didn't have to," Miroku said. "But we wanted to."

            "Why do people always say 'you didn't have to' when they get something?" Inuyasha asked in annoyance. "It's so obvious that we know we didn't have to, so why bother saying it?"

            "It makes you seem more polite," Sango said, starting on her ice cream.

            "Well, thanks anyway for these gifts," Kagome said, putting her presents back in their packaging so that they didn't get damaged in her backpack.

            "Inuyasha has one last thing to give you," Miroku said. He and Sango had it all planned out. They were going to take the gift that his mother had told him to give from his pocket and hand it to Kagome. They knew that giving that particular gift to someone basically meant that you were going to marry the person whom you were giving the gift to, but Miroku knew that, Sango knew that, and Inuyasha's mother knew that. The point of Sango and Miroku being there was to diplomatically inform Inuyasha of what they knew. Miroku grinned as he readied himself to reach into Inuyasha's pocket.

            "Yeah, I do," Inuyasha said, surprising Sango and Miroku. He reached into his pocket and took out the hairpin. "Here you go," he said, quickly handing it to Kagome so that she wouldn't see his hand shake in nervousness. Sango and Miroku exchanged looks, wondering what was going on.

            "Wow," Kagome said, looking at the pin. It was made from ebony, and was quite heavy, but the tiny carvings on the hard would were very beautiful and impressive to see, not to mention the jeweled decoration at one end, followed by a jade ornament and chain. The hairpin had taken a great deal of skill to make, and that wasn't lost on Kagome.

            "Inuyasha, do you know what you just did?" asked Miroku, still trying to follow his plan somewhat.

            "Maybe," Inuyasha said, looking down at the table, his cheeks flushing slightly.

            "Giving that gift to Kagome means that you're going to eventually marry her someday," Sango said. Kagome nearly dropped the gift.

            "What?" asked Kagome, her heart starting to beat faster, causing her to blush.

            "So what?" asked Inuyasha, annoyed.

            "You just gave it to Kagome," Miroku said, trying to get his friend to understand. "That means you just proposed to her."

            "I know that already," Inuyasha said in irritation. "And I already gave it to Kagome. Is there any question about it?"

            His three friends looked at him in surprise. Inuyasha had already known, and yet he had given it anyway. Did that mean he really…?

            "So how 'bout it, Kagome?" he asked in a gentler tone. "Would you accept this engagement?" Kagome smiled, and tried not to blush too hard.

            "I'll have to ask my mom," she said, knowing that they were both too young to start deciding these types of things on their own. But she already knew the answer.

            "Well, I'll eagerly await your reply," Inuyasha said, grinning. They both knew what it was going to be, anyway.

            "Okay, that was a colossal waste of time," Miroku said. "Sango and I worked so hard this morning to set up the situation to force Inuyasha to give it to you, only to find out that he planned on giving it to you anyway." He sighed.

            "Oh well, at least he proposed," Sango said, looking at Miroku funny.

            "Mm…" Miroku said, looking at Sango warily. He smiled in nervous innocence. "What?"

            "Nothing," Sango sighed, finishing the last of her ice cream.

            "What's wrong, Sango?" asked Inuyasha, eating his ice cream.

            "Nothing," Sango said, avoiding eye contact with Miroku.

            "Oi, Miroku," Inuyasha said, poking Miroku in the ribs. "Why don't **you** just give it to her already?"

            "Give her what?" asked Kagome. Miroku looked down at his knees, blushing furiously.

            "It's nothing," he said, putting a protective hand over his pocket so that Inuyasha wouldn't steal his little present.

            "Too late, Miroku," Inuyasha said, holding a box in his hands. "I jacked it from you this morning at PE."

            "What?!" asked Miroku, trying to reach for the box.

            "Yo, Sango, catch!" Inuyasha said, throwing it to Sango. She caught it easily, and looked at Miroku, wondering if he wanted her to open it.

            "Uh…" Miroku said, not quite sure what to say. "Would you please…?" He swallowed and began again in a calmer tone. "In times long past, I would complete the phrase with 'bear my child,' but seeing as this is a different time and circumstance," he said, getting down on one knee. "I'll say it like this: 'would you please marry me?'" he asked, taking the box from Sango's hand and opening it. Inside was a gold ring with a very strange jewel set in the middle.

            "Miroku…" Sango said, happy, and sad at the same time. "If Inuyasha hadn't thrown this box to me, you wouldn't have asked me?"

            "Of course I still would have!" Miroku said. "I just wanted to wait until the mood was right, but since Inuyasha already spoiled it, I thought that I might as well give it to you now."

            "Is that true?" asked Sango, looking at Miroku. He nodded, knowing that the real reason was that he had been too nervous and afraid to give it to her, but since she already knew what he wanted, he hoped that she would consent her hand to him.

            "And your answer is?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't rushing her. Sango hugged him tightly, almost crushing him.

            "Yes, yes, and forever, YES!" she said, laughing. Miroku relaxed and laughed along with her, happy that she had accepted.

            "Then this belongs to you," he said, slipping the ring onto her finger.

            "Why does the jewel look so strange?" asked Kagome, noticing the ring.

            "They're spells," Inuyasha said. "Miroku's been working on them ever since we came back."

            "What kind of spells?" asked Kagome, but Sango didn't seem to care.

            "Protection spells," Inuyasha said, seeing that Miroku and Sango were too lost in each other to pay any attention to he or Kagome. "Let's go, Kagome."

            "Okay," she said, slipping away from the two and heading out with Inuyasha. She knew that they were going to be happy for the rest of their lives.

            She walked next to Inuyasha, the afternoon sun warming her cool skin. She remembered how it had also been afternoon in the Sengoku Jidai when they had had their confrontation with Naraku in what seemed ages ago. She had lost so many of her friends then, and it was such irony to see the same glowing red orb in the sky on such a happy day. She moved a little closer to Inuyasha, careful not to bump him with her backpack.

            She could hardly believe that a year had passed since she had met Inuyasha. They were still in the same class by some stroke of miracle, and they were all alive, contrary to what many believed would happen to them. Sesshoumaru had changed from a seemingly uncaring older brother to one who deeply cared about his family. And Shippou and Souta were growing up, although she didn't like to admit it sometimes. She wanted to cling on to the past, but she knew that she couldn't, and wasn't sure if she completely wanted to. She enjoyed this new atmosphere she shared with Inuyasha, and she didn't want to ever let that go, even if it meant that it was time to move on to the future.

            "You know, Kagome, we've really completed the circle," Inuyasha said suddenly.

            "I know. The Shikon no Tama is complete and gone now," she replied, remembering how that world had disappeared like a dream.

            "Not only that," Inuyasha said. "But us, too."

            "What do you mean?" she asked.

            "I mean, we started out as friends," he said, remembering Kikyo, "Then we became enemies, and ended up being friends, tried to fight Naraku, but failed, met each other again and became friends again, but then we became enemies," he said, recalling how he had blamed Kagome back then, and how Naraku had switched bodies with him. "Then we became friends again, and fought Naraku again."

            "But this time we defeated him," Kagome said. "That means it's not a circle."

            "Fine. A spiral, then," Inuyasha said, remembering something about how a spiral was the path of every living thing.

            "If it's a spiral, then that means it'll never be complete," Kagome said.

            "Well, I think that it's pretty complete now," he said, looking at Kagome. She smiled and reached out for his hand.

            "Well, maybe you're right," she said, walking closer to him than before. He smiled. Only she could make him feel this way, only she could make him feel so warm and loved. He remembered how they had met in the beginning, and wondered how she ever managed to stick around him for so long. _I wasn't exactly the nicest guy back then… But I guess that's Kagome. She'll give anyone a chance._

            He saw the shrine before him, and was reluctant to let Kagome go. _I'm lucky to have met her and to have known her, _he thought, watching her ascend the steps._ And I hope that that luck will stay with me for the rest of my life._

            "See you later, Inuyasha," Kagome waved. He had a hard time seeing her. The afternoon sun shone behind her, illuminating her as if she were a goddess descending from the sky.

            "Bye," he said, waving back. _Kagome will always be Kagome, no matter what, _he thought, remembering the numerous things that had happened to her. _And I don't want to change that. I hope that I can match her in her determination and kindness, but I guess she wouldn't really care about that. She just wants me to be me, whatever that may be, and I suppose that I want the same for her. For Kagome._

_            My Kagome._

**Author's Note:** Thank you all so much for reading this story in its entirety, and many thanks to those of you who reviewed. Without them, I don't think this story would ever have been finished, so I give you my eternal gratitude.

I hope that this story has been enjoyable to you, and if any corrections are still needed, please do not hesitate to tell me.

Again, thanks for reading this little (or not) story. It means a lot to me. ^_^

I hope to see y'all later!


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